SAN DIEGO, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement by Gene Grabowski, spokesperson for the Grocery Manufacturers of America -- a founding member of the Alliance for Better Foods -- was issued today following unofficial reports that fewer than 500 protesters demonstrated against biotechnology in San Diego.

"The low turnout for today's demonstration is further confirmation that American consumers are confident in the U.S. regulatory agencies and trust the science that is behind the responsible development of agricultural biotechnology. The lack of turnout further confirms the evidence gathered by GMA member companies over the past 18 months. These companies have been monitoring calls to 800 numbers placed on product labels and Web sites. Less than one percent of the calls to these numbers have expressed opposition to biotechnology. In addition, Alliance tracking research over the past two years has shown that biotechnology is not an issue of concern for consumers.

"Today's 'Bio-Fizzle' demonstration is a reflection of the fact that as America continues to learn more about safety and environmental benefits of agricultural biotechnology, consumers are basing their views on confidence in sound science and regulation and will not be persuaded by street theater and junk science."

SOURCE The Alliance for Better Foods

Nearly the same day, the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology released a report that stated 65% of the public are concerned over the safety of genetically engineered foods. Follow the link below to read the report:

http://pewagbiotech.org/research/survey6-01.pdf

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Dear Vice President Grabowski,

I am very disturbed by the misinformation campaign your organization is waging on behalf of the agriculture biotech industry. Your organization continually states that American consumers are not concerned about genetically engineered foods when THE FACTS CLEARLY SHOW OTHERWISE.

A recent survey done for the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology found that 65 PERCENT of the Americans surveyed indicated that they ARE CONCERNED about the safety of genetically modified foods.

If consumers are not concerned about genetically engineered foods, why did a recent poll done by ABC News indicate that 93% of Americans surveyed want genetically modified food labeled?

It seems that your organization thinks that if it lies to the American public enough times, people will eventually believe your lies. However, by continuing to engage in your misinformation campaign, you are causing people to lose respect for the credibility of your organization.

Rather than muddying up the picture with lies, the GMA and the biotech industry should agree to label genetically modified foods. If genetically engineered foods are safe, then it should be the responsibility of the biotech industry to provide enough information to consumers so that they willingly purchase the labeled products.

It should come as no surprise that consumers are concerned with the safety of genetically engineered foods. Indeed, the very companies that produce these products are the same ones vouching for their safety. The review process by the FDA is not adequate in the minds of many reputable scientists.

For example, the potential allergy problem from StarLink corn totally escaped the regulatory review process of the FDA. It was the EPA that discovered the problem when reviewing StarLink corn since it has a built-in pesticide. The FDA should have caught the potential allergy problem but did not because of the holes in its review process.

Americans want genetically engineered foods to be labeled just like citizens in dozens of other countries around the world where mandatory labeling requirements are either already in place or have recently been passed into law.