Protect the Public from Genetically Engineered FoodsEnvironmental
Protection Agency (Mail code 1101) Dear Commissioner Stephen L. Johnson , In light of the risk of genetically engineered foods pose for Monarch butterflies, and other potential environmental hazards, I am writing to ask you to place an immediate moratorium on the planting of all genetically engineered crops. I’m also requesting that your agency stop approving new genetically altered foods until sufficient study has been completed to determine their safety. As many reports have made clear, the EPA and other government agencies have largely abdicated their oversight responsibilities and let biotech companies police themselves. This disastrous public policy has led many Americans to feel that the U.S. government’s policy on biotechnology is woefully inadequate. Research reveals that genes used to modify crops can jump to other species and cause bacteria to mutate. Professor Hans-Hinrich Katz, a leading German zoologist, found that the gene used to modify oilseed rape had transferred to bacteria living in the guts of honey bees. The implications of this could be far-reaching. Scientists also are finding that genetically engineered crops are contaminating non-GE crops. After all, wind carries seeds, and bees can carry contaminated pollen to fields three miles away. Britain’s Former Environment Minister, Michael Meacher, admitted that GE crops can contaminate non-GE ones no matter how far they are apart. The biotech industry obviously has done a terrible job of policing itself and protecting the public from environmental risks. You can do a great deal to restore public confidence in your agency by prudently imposing a moratorium on genetically engineered foods. Sincerely, (print name) (address) (city, state, zip) |