News Flash: NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO BROADCASTS A SPECIAL PRESENTATION ABOUT THE HAZARDS OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS

Dateline 2/12/99

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO BROADCASTS A SPECIAL PRESENTATION ABOUT THE HAZARDS OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS

National Public Radio has just released to its national affiliates a special one-hour taped interview with Dr. John Fagan, top cancer researcher and pioneer in the hazards of genetic engineering, and Steven Druker, founder and executive director of the Alliance for Bio-Integrity. The interview provides excellent, up-to-date information about the risks of genetically engineered foods and about the actions we can take to protect our food supply.

The NPR tape was made on January 28th at the Cleveland City Club in Cleveland, Ohio, where Dr. Fagan and Mr. Druker gave a powerful 30-minute presentation about the risks of genetically engineered foods, followed by 30 minutes of questions and answers. NPR had planned to release the tape for broadcast on February 15th, but changed the schedule to February 8th instead.

PLEASE CALL YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO STATION IMMEDIATELY TO FIND OUT WHEN THIS SPECIAL CLEVELAND CITY CLUB FORUM WILL BE BROADCAST IN YOUR LOCAL AREA. For those in eastern Iowa, WSUI, at 910 on your AM dial, will broadcast the program on Friday, February 19, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.

IF YOUR LOCAL NPR AFFILIATE HAS ALREADY BROADCAST THIS PRESENTATION, PLEASE ASK FOR A REBROADCAST SO THAT YOU AND OTHERS IN YOUR LOCAL AREA CAN REMAIN INFORMED.

This issue is of great concern to everyone interested in the integrity of our food supply and in the long-range impact of genetically modified organisms upon the environment and human health.

BACKGROUND

John Fagan, Ph. D., stunned the scientific community in 1994 by returning $614,000 in grant money awarded to him by the National Institutes of Health and withdrawing grant proposals worth another $1.25 million due to his deep concern that his research on gene regulation could lead to dangerous applications. He has lectured all over the world on the potential hazards of genetically manipulated organisms for human health and the environment. His book "Genetic Engineering, the Hazards; Vedic Engineering, the Solutions" is available through MUM Press (800-831-6523).

Steven M. Druker, J.D., as executive director of the Alliance for Bio-Integrity, has coordinated a landmark lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration to gain mandatory safety testing and labeling of all genetically engineered foods. In doing so, he assembled an unprecedented coalition of eminent scientists, religious leaders, and public interest organizations to stand as plaintiffs. To learn more about this suit and the problems of genetic engineering from the perspectives of both science and religion, please visit the Alliance's website at http://www.bio-integrity.org.

The Cleveland City Club Forum is a regular one-hour show broadcast at different times on NPR stations across the nation.

Genetic engineering is a revolutionary technology that enables scientists to remove genes from one organism and transfer those genes into any other organism. By so doing, researchers can change the characteristics of the recipient organism--for example, they can engineer tomatoes with a longer shelf life or soybeans that are resistant to herbicides. Unlike traditional cross-breeding techniques, genetic engineering overrides species boundaries--for example, by inserting genes from bacteria, viruses, and even animals or fish into food crops. These new, genetically modified foods are then sold in supermarkets, without any labeling to alert the consumer about the genetic alteration.

Safety testing of genetically modified organisms has been minimal and often questionable, yet the potential hazards of these organisms to human health and the environment are enormous and possibly irreversible. The Natural Law Party therefore strongly supports mandatory labeling of all genetically engineered foods, as well as a moratorium on the release of genetically engineered organisms into the environment.