Washington, DC
June 3, 2002
Consumer activists, food
manufacturers and academics to debate whether to label
genetically modified foods
The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology announced today
that it is hosting a policy dialogue, "Labeling Genetically
Modified Foods: Communicating or Creating Confusion?" on June
27, 2002 from 12 noon to 1.30 p.m. CDT in the Paris South Room
of The Hotel Monaco, 225 North Wabash, in downtown Chicago. Dan
Charles, Contributing Science Correspondent for National Public
Radio and author of "Lords of The Harvest: Biotech, Big Money
and the Future of Food," will moderate the lively discussion
with consumer activists, a major food company representative and
academic researchers.
"One of the most contentious issues in the debate over the use
of agricultural biotechnology has been over whether or not foods
made with genetically modified ingredients should be labeled as
such," said Michael Rodemeyer, executive director of the
Initiative. "We are pleased to provide a forum for all
viewpoints on this issue to engage one another and help
illuminate the discussion in a moderated, thoughtful manner."
Panelists are:
- Professor Jonathan K. Frenzen,
Clinical Professor of Marketing at the University of Chicago's
Graduate School of Business, who has researched consumer
attitudes toward GMOs and believes mandatory labels are an
ineffective way to communicate information to the average
consumer.
- Gregory Jaffe, Director of the
Biotechnology Project at the Center for Science in the Public
Interest (CSPI). CSPI has taken the position that the best way
to ensure consumer confidence in GM foods is to improve the
U.S. regulatory system and that food labeling should not be a
substitute for safety.
- Austin P. Sullivan, Jr.,
Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations at General Mills.
Inc., who believes that mandatory labeling of biotech
ingredients would, perversely, limit consumer choice, retard
the development of a beneficial technology that has repeatedly
been found to be safe, and that voluntary labeling is a far
more efficient way to provide market-based choices for
consumers.
- Craig Winters, Executive
Director of the Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered
Foods. The Campaign has been leading a national grassroots
effort to get Congress to pass legislation that will require
the mandatory labeling of foods that have been genetically
engineered.
The dialogue will be presented
via a live Internet webcast. To watch go to
http://www.PewAgBiotech.org or
http://www.ConnectLive.com/events/pewagbiotech
To attend the lunch event live in Chicago, please RSVP to DJ
Nordquist at
djnordquist@pewagbiotech.org or call (202) 347 9132.
The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology is a nonprofit,
nonpartisan research project whose goal is to inform the public
and policymakers on issues about genetically modified food and
agricultural biotechnology, including its importance, as well as
concerns about it and its regulation. It is funded by a grant
from The Pew Charitable Trusts to the University of Richmond.
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