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Q: Why are we targeting Kraft? A: Kraft Foods is the largest food company in the country, and the second largest in the world, with products that can be found in 99% of U.S. households. Yet many of these products, such as Taco Bell taco shells, Post Cereal, Lunchables, and Stovetop stuffing, have been found to contain untested and unlabeled genetically engineered ingredients that may put its customers at risk. Kraft is aware of the potential health and environmental risks of genetically engineered foods - after StarLink corn was discovered in its products, the company recalled millions of boxes of taco shells, switched to non-genetically engineered white corn in its corn-based taco products to avoid further contamination and called for stronger regulations from government agencies. Kraft also has moved to avoid genetically engineered ingredients in its products in Europe, but continues to use these ingredients in the United States. We are calling on the company to live up to its promises of doing more to ensure a safe food supply by removing genetically engineered ingredients in its foods. Q. Has Kraft responded to this campaign? A. We have sent a letter to Kraft asking for a meeting to discuss our concerns and that they send a response to our letter. The company has not sent a written response and they have refused to openly meet with us to discuss its customers’ concerns on the issue of genetically engineered foods. Q. What are genetically engineered foods? A. Genetically engineered foods are foods which have had genetic material inserted into them to create a new trait. Genetic engineering allows organisms that would never cross in nature, such as bacteria and corn, to combine in a laboratory setting. The results are often novel proteins that have never been exposed to human digestive systems, and have unknown effects on human health and the environment. Q. What are the health risks of genetically engineered foods? A. Since there is not mandatory safety testing of genetically engineered foods, there have not been adequately tested to determine what health effects these foods may have on people. Studies have found genetically engineered foods may cause allergic reactions, toxicity, and may lead to antibiotic resistance, and these foods should not be on the market until further testing assesses these risks. Hundreds of Americans have reported allergic reactions to the FDA after eating Kraft and other brand name corn products likely to contain GE ingredients. Genetically engineered foods are not required to be labeled, so consumers have no way of tracking the cause of their illness if they do get sick. Q. What are the government agencies that regulate genetically engineered foods? A. The Food and Drug Administration is the main agency that governs the testing and labeling requirement of genetically engineered foods, the Environmental Protection Agency governs plant pesticides (mainly Bt crops), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture governs field tests of genetically engineered crops. These agencies have not required mandatory safety testing or labeling of genetically engineered foods, so we are calling on food agencies to stop using these ingredients until they are tested and found safe, and labeled for consumer right-to-know. Q. Are these foods adequately tested? A.Genetically engineered ingredients are now in 70% of processed foods on grocery store shelves. The federal government, however, has conducted no long-term safety tests on these foods before they entered the food supply and the environment. Both the FDA and USDA currently allow the corporations developing genetically engineered crops to conduct all pre-market safety testing, and while the USDA does review some of this data, the FDA still has a voluntary consultation process for new genetically engineered foods entering the market. Many of these corporate studies contain "confidential business information" making it next to impossible for independent researchers to test the findings of the biotechnology corporations. Thus, there is much information still missing regarding the health and environmental effects of commercial sale and environmental release of these foods. While the FDA and other federal agencies continually assert that genetically engineered crops are safe, the Royal Society of Canada, in a report published in 2001, stated that it "is unaware of any public data available for confirmation of this assumption." The EPA’s own scientific advisors have recommended more testing to determine the health effects of genetically engineered foods—up to this point this advice has been ignored. Q. How do most Americans feel about genetically Engineered Foods? A. Poll after poll show that an overwhelming majority of people want genetically engineered food labeled--primarily so they can avoid them. In June 2001 an ABC News poll found that 93% want labels and of those polled 52% believe genetically engineered foods are unsafe. Q. What are the financial benefits of using genetically engineered foods? A. Although there are many financial risks with using genetically engineered foods, there is no indication that there are financial benefits from using these ingredients. It is more of an inconvenience for food companies to switch suppliers or ask its suppliers to use non-ge foods, steps that many large food companies, such as Frito-Lay, Gerber and McDonalds, have already done for some of its products. Q. What do you recommend that people do? A. We recommend that you contact Kraft and ask that it stop using genetically engineered ingredients in its products. Since products containing ge ingredients are not labeled the only way to avoid consuming these foods is to avoid processed foods that contain corn, soy, canola, or cotton-based ingredients. We also recommend that people vote with their dollars and purchase locally produced, organic foods. Organic farmers and producers operate under strict certification rules and don’t use any genetically engineered seeds or ingredients. To find out more and to contact Kraft, visit www.krafty.org.
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