[Imc-newsroom] FSRN headline possibility today (fwd)

[Danielle Chynoweth]

Funny, Randi just e-mailed about this.  I can't do it, but Sehvilla might 
be up for it.  Or Molly?

-- 
| Danielle Chynoweth
|
| Art Director * OJC Technologies * ojctech.com
| City Council Member * Urbana City Council * city.urbana.il.us

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2003 12:13:20 -0500 
From: Randi Zimmerman <RandiZ at WMNF.org>
To: "'chyn at onthejob.net'" <chyn at ojctech.com>
Subject: FSRN headline possibility today

Whaddya think about this?!

FDA seeks altered-gene piglets sold as food
Thu Feb 6, 7:21 AM ET
	

Elizabeth Weise USA TODAY <http://www.usatoday.com:80/> 

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it is trying to track
down as many as 386 piglets that might have been genetically engineered and
wrongfully sold into the U.S. food supply. 
	
The focus of the FDA investigation are pigs raised by researchers at the
University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. They engineered the animals with
two genes: One is a cow gene that increases milk production in the sow. The
other, a synthetic gene, makes the milk easier for piglets to digest. The
goal was to raise bigger pigs faster.

There has been no evidence that either genetically altered plants or animals
trigger human illness, but critics warn that potential side effects remain
unknown. University officials say their tests showed the piglets were not
born with the altered genes, but FDA rules require even the offspring of
genetically engineered animals to be destroyed so they don't get into the
food supply.

The FDA, in a quickly arranged news conference Wednesday prompted by
inquiries by USA TODAY, said the University of Illinois will face possible
sanctions and fines for selling the piglets to a livestock broker, who in
turn sells to processing plants.

Both the FDA and the university say the pigs that entered the market do not
pose a risk to consumers. But the investigation follows action by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture in December to fine a Texas company that
contaminated 500,000 bushels of soybeans with corn that had been genetically
altered to produce a vaccine for pigs.

Opponents see such cases as evidence of the need for more government
oversight of a burgeoning area of scientific research.

''This is a small incident, but it's incidents like this that could destroy
consumer confidence and export confidence,'' said Stephanie Childs of the
Grocery Manufacturers of America. ''We already have Europe shaky on biotech.
The countries to whom we export are going to look at this.''

The University of Illinois said it tested the DNA of every piglet eight
times to make sure that the animal hadn't inherited the genetic engineering
of its mother. Those piglets that did were put back into the study. Those
that didn't were sold to the pig broker.

''Any pig that has tested negative for the genes since 1999 has been sent
off to market,'' said Charles Zukoski, vice chancellor for research.

But FDA deputy commissioner Lester Crawford said that under the terms of the
university's agreement with the FDA, the researchers were forbidden to
remove the piglets without FDA approval.

''The University of Illinois failed to check with FDA to see whether or not
the animals could be sold on the open market. And they were not to be used
under any circumstance for food,'' he said.

The FDA is responsible for regulating and overseeing transgenic animals
because such genetic manipulation is considered an unapproved animal drug.