biopharming update

The deadline for comments on biopharming has been
extended to Feb. 7th,
this Friday. If you haven't let USDA and FDA know how
you feel about
drugs contaminating the food supply, there's still
time. Send comments
to:

Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305)
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852

For short e-mail comments, go to
http://www.fda.gov/dockets/ecomments.
SPECIFY DOCKET NO. O2D-0324 in subject line or on
written comments to
make sure they're counted.
The guidance document on which comments are being
taken can be found at
http://www.fda.gov/cber/gdlns/bioplant.pdf

I've attached the executive summary to our
comprehensive report on
biopharming, which can be found at
www.foe.org/biopharm, for those
desiring background. Some points you might make are
as follows:

* Experts agree that contamination of food crops with
biopharm traits
is inevitable, especially since cross-pollinating corn
is the favorite
plant and as acreage increases from small pilot trials
to large
commercial plantings. Look at the ProdiGene incidents
in NE and IA.
The NE incident involved a 1-acre test plot, and
wasn't adequately
monitored. What happens when they're growing
thousands of acres?

* Some of the compounds presently being grown in corn
have known human
health effects, but have not been tested. Many more
are kept secret by
government and industry as "confidential business
information."

* Some companies want to extract the
biopharmaceutical, then put the
crop residue into the food and feed chain. So if
extraction isn't
complete, we're talking drug residues in the food
supply.

* More stringent regulation is not the answer –
banning biopharming,
at least in food crops and in the open air – is.
There are many
contained, controlled, proven as well as newer
alternatives to open-air
biopharming for any drugs that are really needed.

* Farmers will suffer as contamination episodes ruin
export markets.

* Use of pesticides on biopharm plants raises the
very real risk of
pesticide residues in drugs.

for more info.

Bill Freese, Research Analyst
Safer Food - Safer Farms Campaign
Friends of the Earth
Phone/fax: 301-985-3011
[email protected]

NW Resistance Against Genetic Engineering
P.O.Box 15289
Portland, OR. 97293
ph. 503.239.6841
www.nwrage.org
[email protected]





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