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By BRAD CAIN
.c The Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The food industry is mounting a major effort to scuttle the first attempt by a state to require labels on genetically engineered foods.

A measure that will be on the November ballot in Oregon would require labeling of all modified food and food additives sold in stores and restaurants, and any such food produced in the state.

``If this ballot measure passes, it would set a dangerous precedent that would result in significant costs to taxpayers and consumers,'' said Gene Grabowski of the Alliance for Better Foods, based in Washington. The national coalition of food producers and retailers, biotech companies and agricultural groups has hired a Portland consulting firm to put together what promises to be a multimillion-dollar campaign.

They are pitted against activists who worry that genetic engineering could cause unintended or harmful side effects.

``We could be creating something we can't control,'' said Donna Harris, a chief sponsor of the measure. ``They haven't done any human testing of this in the United States.''

Labeling requirements already exist in Japan and parts of Europe, but there are none in the United States so far. Oregon has broken new ground before, including its unique laws allowing doctor-assisted suicides and statewide voting by mail.

Based on the overall amount of genetically modified crops, industry and environmental groups estimate that 70 percent of processed foods on U.S. supermarket shelves contains some genetically engineered components.

The main crops that come from genetically altered seeds are soybeans and corn, along with canola that is turned into oil, according to the Agriculture Department.

Products made from modified soybeans include bread, candy, cereal, chocolates, crackers, flour, frozen yogurt, ice cream, infant formula, margarine and pasta, according to the Seattle-based Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods.

Proponents say genetic engineering can boost the nutritional content of food or allow farmers to grow more pest-resistant crops that require less chemical treatment.

Grabowski, the food industry spokesman, also said there is already plenty of government regulation of food quality and that fear of harm by genetically modified foods is unfounded.

``It's in all kinds of food, and there's never been a single case of illness or any other problem,'' he said.

Backers of the labeling measure say too little is known about the long-term health effects of genetically engineered foods.

``It's like little kids playing with a chemistry set in a back bedroom. You hope they don't burn down the house,'' said Craig Winters, head of the Seattle campaign.

The group has been leading a national effort to get Congress to pass a federal labeling requirement, but has made little headway. Winters said passage of the Oregon measure would send a strong message to Washington.

All sides agree that requiring labels would be expensive.

``The food manufacturers themselves often don't know if the ingredients they are using have been genetically modified,'' said Mike Rodemeyer, executive director of the nonpartisan Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology.

Such companies would have to track down that information, he said, ``but the question is, who pays for the cost of doing those things?''

Rodemeyer said various polls and opinion surveys he's seen make it clear that most Americans support the labeling requirement.

``People think it's important to know if the foods they are buying in the grocery store contain genetically modified ingredients,'' he said. ``They feel strongly they have a right to know about a product's attributes.''

On the Net:

Alliance for Better Foods: www.betterfoods.org

Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods: www.thecampaign.org

Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology: www.pewagbiotech.org


 
08/12/02 21:24 EDT
   

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.