Warning that some genetically engineered foods may pose a health hazard and are not safety-tested, organic food experts and OSPIRG activists held a rally at 10 a.m. Tuesday in front of Johnson Hall.
The experts said many genetically engineered foods are not identified as such in supermarkets or on packaging, which disregards the consumer’s right to know. It also puts unsuspecting consumers at risk for increased allergic reactions and possibly cancer, they said.
To promote the event, OSPIRG representatives strolled the sidewalks in front of Johnson Hall in homemade costumes that depicted the result of splicing vegetable genes with other food genes. One student wore a silver fish with the body of a tomato.
They encouraged students to attend the rally, which at its peak drew about 10 spectators.
One of Tuesday’s speakers was from the Genetically Engineered Foods Alert Campaign, which is calling for a moratorium on genetically engineered foods until long-term safety testing is complete, GE foods are labeled and the biotechnical corporations manufacturing these foods agree to be liable for damages.
“The long-term effect of these foods are not known,” said Rachel Spencer, a project coordinator for the Genetically Engineered Foods Alert Campaign. “The [Food and Drug Administration] is no longer formally safety testing these ‘Frankenstein foods.’”
Spencer cited the recent FDA recall of Starlink corn products, which contained a bacterial pesticide and were not approved for human consumption, as an example of the danger GE foods present.
The pesticide, known as Bacillus thurengiensis, or Bt, is used to deter pests from infesting crops, she said. Once consumed, the pesticide basically disintegrates the bellies of these insects.
The corn products containing Bt included certain taco shells and other corn-based products, and were found on shelves at Safeway, Mission Foods, Foodline and other stores before being recalled, Spencer said.
People consuming these products may face long-term effects. Corporations that make the foods use “marker genes” to determine if the insertion of genetic material into a plant’s DNA is successful, said J.J. Haapala, a speaker and director of resource education for the Oregon Tilth.
He said when people consume these “marker genes,” which are often bacterial genes, it may reduce their antibodies’ ability to fight off disease, because the diseases will figure out how to get around the antibodies.
However, he said “the only studies that have been done [on whether these bacterial genes lower antibiotic resistance] were done on rats.”
Tuesday’s event was one of many events sponsored by the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group this year about health, the environment and consumer safety.
“OSPIRG has a long history of defending the consumer right to know and protecting the health of consumers in public health issues,” said OSPIRG organizer Jessica Smitana, speaking about why the rally was organized. “People need to be informed that these products are out there, and that they represent a potential risk.”