GE Crop Regulations Proposed Rule

GE Crop Regulations Proposed Rule

Public Comment Period Extended through May 2009

In the last months of the Bush Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a proposal to completely overhaul its regulation of genetically engineered (GE) crops, significantly weakening its oversight. No longer would the USDA start from the assumption that a new GE crop must be regulated; some GE crops could be exempted altogether. The proposed rule would virtually ensure that contamination of organic and commercial crops will become even more frequent, and excuses the USDA from taking any action to remedy such contamination. The rule would continue to allow the dangerous practice of producing drugs and industrial chemicals in food crops grown in the open environment, and, if implemented, the proposed rule would allow the wholesale deregulation of the agricultural biotechnology industry.

The USDA has reopened the comment period on the proposed rule. The Center for Food Safety's current campaign asks supporters to tell the USDA to:

1. Withdraw the proposed rule
2. Release the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) for public review and comment and to be used as a basis for further rule-making
3. Suspend all new GE crop approvals until the above has been satisfactorily completed and unless and until GE crops are proven safe

For more information and to comment, please visit the Center for Food Safety’s campaign by clicking here.

Happy Valentines!

Thanks to everyone who came to the Co-op to help us celebrate Valentines Day. We’re making Valentine cards from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and raffling off Valentine’s baskets. The basket raffles are going on all day long today, 2/14, so if you haven’t entered yet, by all means skip or stroll on over to the Co-op and fill out a raffle ticket. You don’t need to be present to win; we’ll call you!

Love, People’s (thump, thump)

The Dangers of Food Dyes

Important new research has shown that commonly used food dyes, such as Yellow 5, Red 40, and six others, are linked to hyperactivity, impulsivity, learning difficulties, and Attention Deficity Hyperactivity Disorder in many children. The Center for Science in the Public Interest Europe. has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of these dyes, many of which are already being phased out in

These dyes—petrochemicals, mostly—are often used to simulate the presence of healthy, colorful fruits and vegetables. But considering the adverse impact of these chemicals on children, and considering how easily they can be replaced with colorings derived from real food ingredients, it’s time to get rid of them altogether.