AN UPDATE From the Center for Food Safety www.centerforfoodsafety.org

To the Petitioners and Supporters of the Center For Food Safety’s Legal Petitions on Genetically Engineered Fish

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday. At the start of this new year, the Center for Food Safety would like to take this opportunity to thank you again for your continued support and to update you on the progress that we have made in advocating for a moratorium on the approval of genetically engineered (“GE”) fish. We are happy to report that in accordance with our legal petitions, there has been significant movement toward preventing GE fish from being grown in our open waters by the federal agencies, Congress, and internationally policy makers.

To keep this momentum going in support of our legal petitions, we have been actively working to generate grassroots efforts. These efforts are essential to encourage FDA to adopt a comprehensive regulatory structure to ensure that the human health effects of consuming GE fish are properly tested and to consult with the appropriate environmental agencies. These efforts are also necessary to educate fish suppliers such as owners of restaurants, grocery stores, and fish retailers about GE fish and to gain their support. We hope that you will help us in the grassroots component of this campaign by participating in our postcard campaign to FDA and our pledge campaign to restaurants, fish retailers, and grocery stores.

Federal Agencies

FDA has told us that answering our petition is a “high priority.” Due to the secret review process for new animal drugs, it is difficult to obtain any information on where they are in the process and what human health impacts they are and are not assessing. However, we have discovered that FDA is issuing a draft guidance document on how it should review the safety of GE animals marketed for human consumption. This document is expected to be in the Federal Register in the next three months to a year and is open to public comment. Also, part of this guidance document includes the establishment of an advisory committee that is made of the public and will review particularly controversial GE animals such as fish.

The Services (National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service) have already advised the Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers to not allow GE fish in net pens in Maine. Due to the recent listing of Atlantic salmon in Maine, the Services are concerned about the effect GE fish may have on endangered species. Interestingly, the Corps of Engineers told us that the only group that has approached them about a future permit to grow GE fish in net pens is an aquaculture group in Maine!!!

Congress

In July, Representatives Kucinich and DeFazio sponsored an amendment for a moratorium on the approval of GE fish in order for the appropriate environmental and human health impacts to be considered before these fish are approved for the market. Unfortunately, the Kucinich/DeFazio Amendment was defeated 145-279. While the amendment did not succeed, 145 votes (including 13 Republicans and 2 independents) signifies the largest Congressional vote in favor of a moratorium on a genetically modified organism (GMO). Also, this amendment gained 87 more votes than the number of cosponsors on the Kucinich GE food labeling legislation that was introduced in the 106th Session of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Internationally

During the June 2001 meeting of the National Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (“NASCO”), established by international treaty and consisting of Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, and the United States, the parties agreed to support guidelines for GE fish. NASCO’s guidelines for GE fish state that the parties will “take all possible actions to ensure that the use of transgenic salmon, in any part of the NASCO Convention Area, is confined to secure, self-contained, land-based facilities.”

Grassroots

Postcard Campaign

We are proud to announce that we have distributed over 41,000 postcards among 47 states. These postcards are giving individuals an easy way to submit their comments to the FDA as the agency prepares their response to our petition. So far, the FDA has received over 15,000 comments and over 10,000 of these comments are the CFS postcards!!! Thanks to everyone who helped out by distributing our postcards.

Although the response rate has been high, we STILL need to increase the pressure to keep GE fish from entering open waters, and from landing on our dinner plates! To help increase the public response, and as a note of our appreciation for your support, we are again offering you postcards that you can send to your many contacts, friends, and members. Click below to access the card

http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/facts&issues/GEfish.pdf

We also have plenty of wonderful posters regarding the GE fish campaign that we encourage you to display in your residence or workplace or give to your local food co-op or health food store to display.

Pledge Campaign

CFS recently launched a campaign together with Friends of the Earth and Clean Water Action to support the goals of the legal petition. The three groups are asking US grocery store chains, fish retailers and restaurants to support the petitioners’ call for a moratorium on the approval of GE fish and to pledge that they will not buy or sell GE fish should the FDA allow them on the market. Your endorsement and active involvement in this campaign will help CFS educate consumers and will influence other retailers and restaurants to publicly oppose these fish before they enter the market. To view the pledge, click the link.

http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/gefish/PledgeLetter.htm

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Postcard Campaign

If you or your organization would like to help distribute the GE Fish postcards and/or display the poster, please respond to this e-mail providing the following information:

Organization:

Contact Name:

Title:

Address:

City:

State:

Zip:

Phone:

Postcard Quantity: (20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 or other_____)

Poster Quantity:

Note:

Both the posters and the postcards are complimentary.

If you intend on mailing to food co-ops and natural health stores, please be sure these markets do not have our postcards already. CFS has mailed these postcards to over 200 such organizations in 47 states.

Pledge Campaign

If you would like to become more actively involved as a partner of this GE Fish pledge campaign, CFS could use your help in connecting with national fish retailers, restaurants, grocers, and others.

If you represent a company or restaurant or are a chef, please consider signing the enclosed pledge, stating that you will not intentionally purchase or sell genetically engineered fish.

Otherwise, you can help CFS by presenting the pledge letter to your favorite chef or fish retailer.

E-mail or fax the form back to us at (202) 547-9429.

If you wish to discuss the campaign on GE Fish in greater detail, please call 800-600-6664. Thank you again for helping us spread the word about this important issue!

Sincerely,

Tracie Letterman Juliana Jones

Attorney Grassroots Organizer