PepsiCo Chooses to Continue Using GE Ingredients Despite Evidence of Harm
by Dave Gabriele
PepsiCo’s 2009 shareholder proxy report contains a proposal (pg. 61) that paints a clear picture of the company’s use of genetically-engineered (GE) food ingredients and its attitude toward this issue. The proposal describes a loose plan to remove GE ingredients from Pepsi’s products in order to maintain “Company product integrity.” The concern, archived for public record in the report, is that Pepsi products contain “potentially GE” corn, rice, canola, soy and sugar.
![[FILE - In this July 10, 2009 file photo, Pepsi products are on display in a grocery store in Danvers, Mass.(AP Photo/Lisa Poole, file)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/pepsi_0.jpg "pepsi.jpg")
FILE – In this July 10, 2009 file photo, Pepsi products are on display in a grocery store in Danvers, Mass.(AP Photo/Lisa Poole, file)The controversy of GE crops is not a new one. For years, proponents of the biotech industry have maintained that GE crops are completely safe for human consumption and will benefit the world, while campaigners against GE foods have contended that the long-term dangers of this branch of science are unknown and uncontrolled. We now know that GE crops can pose extreme dangers for human consumption, animal consumption and for the biodiversity of the environment.
The report cites twelve well-documented incidences or studies in which the dangers of GE crops are clearly demonstrated. The evidence includes a 2007 study conducted in Paris, France, where rats were fed GE corn made by US biotech giant Monsanto. The results, which were published in the journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, were very unfavorable for the corn. The rats showed “signs of toxicity” in the kidneys and liver and developed problems in those organs.
In 2005, a GE pea developed by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization provoked a strong immune response in laboratory rats when tested by scientists from the John Curtin Medical Research School in the city of Canberra. The tests carried out on the pea were of the kind normally undertaken on drugs, not on food. US law does not require this kind of testing and so it is highly probable that the pea would have been approved if it were tested in the US. The findings were published in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2005). The study concluded that, “These investigations, however, demonstrate that transgenic expression of non-native proteins in plants may lead to the synthesis of structural variants with altered immunogenicity.” In other words, GE plants can lead to unpredictable immune responses in humans.
In another 2005 incident, Syngenta admitted that it had accidentally sold unapproved genetically modified seed corn (Bt 10) in the US for four years (2001-2005). The mistake resulted in about 15,000 hectares planted with the unapproved variety and about 133 million kilograms of the corn making its way into the food supply.
The evidence in Pepsi’s proxy report represents a fraction of the evidence available yet it alone sends a clear message that GE foodstuffs are potentially dangerous. The proposal clearly presented this information to Pepsi and its shareholders and recommended that GE ingredients be removed from Pepsi’s products.
To quote Pepsi’s response to the proposal: “We believe that genetically-modified products can play a role in generating positive economic, social and environmental contributions to societies around the world; particularly in times of food shortages.” Pepsi’s Board of Directors recommended that the shareholders vote against the proposal.
PepsiCo products include:
- Mountain Dew
- Amp energy drink
- Aquafina
- Sun Chips
- Lays potato chips
- Doritos
- Tostitos
- Tropicana juices
- Dole juices
- Quaker Oats
- Aunt Jemima Syrup
- Rice-A-Roni
- Gatorade
“Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food…. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA’s job.”
– Phil Angell, Director of Corporate Communications, Monsanto, quoted in the New York Times Magazine, October 25, 1998
“Ultimately, it is the food producer who is responsible for assuring safety.”
– FDA, “Statement of Policy: Foods Derived from New Plant Varieties”, (GMO Policy), Federal Register, Vol. 57, No. 104 (1992), p. 22991
Natural News Network © 2009
This is the comment I am posting on commondreams too.
About three weeks ago I gave up drinking soda and caffine. I stopped drinking coke and pepsi which I had been drinking non stop since I was a small child. The first week was hard because I was going through caffine withdrawals. There are times like last night that I really wanted a coke. Though coke was the soda I liked best I also drank pepsi when it was on sale. Now, after reading this article I am happy that I made the decision to stop drinking pepsi.
The spitfire in me says encourage and inspire people to boycott all Pepsi products until they STOP using GE modified food in their products. If they don’t care about the health of the people who use their products than we the PEOPLE should care enough to make them care through loosing the large profits. We could make signs and stand in front of stores and hand out pamplets that we made explaining to the shoppers why they should not BUY Pepsi products until they STOP using GE modified items in their products. I am just brainstorming here of ways that we in the Green Party could be active in our communities on this issue.
Our government has failed us. We have the FDA who says this statement: ” “Ultimately, it is the food producer who is responsible for assuring safety.”
– FDA, “Statement of Policy: Foods Derived from New Plant Varieties”, (GMO Policy), Federal Register, Vol. 57, No. 104 (1992), p. 22991
And we have the company who makes the GE food says this:” “Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food…. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA’s job.”
– Phil Angell, Director of Corporate Communications, Monsanto, quoted in the New York Times Magazine, October 25, 1998
I feel like we are playing Russian roulette just eating and drinking products. We don’t know if they are safe or if they are going to cause health problems that lead to death. Yet, the government agency FDA seems to be asleep at the wheel and is not ensuring that the food and beverages we drink in America are safe. How many more deaths are we going to hear because fellow Americans ate a food item like peanut butter? How many people are going to loose their beloved pet because the dog food or doggie treats they gave them were tainted? If the government doesn’t CARE about WE THE PEOPLE than it is time for WE THE PEOPLE TO STAND UP AND MAKE THEM CARE. If we can’t TRUST them to do their job than we must let them know that WE THE PEOPLE are going to BOYCOTT all food and beverage products that come from large corporations who have so little regard for US, the people that they would use GE items in their products. We must make them understand that WE THE PEOPLE WILL NOT TOLERATE this behavior of theirs that for large profits they use GE items in their products that are not healthy or good for us.
I say this is a time where SILENCE ISN’T GOLDEN, but a time for us the consumer to SPEAK OUT LOUD AND CLEAR.
Just doing some more thinking about this. In Sun Lakes where I live, I go to the Democratic club meetings because I have more in common with them than the Sun Lakes Republican club. I think I am the only Green in Sun Lakes but I think I may try and start a Green Party club here and see if there are other Greens who want to be active.
Anyway, Sept. is the first meeting of the year for the Sun Lakes Democratic club so I think I will talk to them about this issue and see if they are interesting in working with me to try and get the shoppers of Sun Lakes to boycott Pepsi products. Maybe a joint project between Greens and Democrats.
Here is a copy of the email I sent to someone in the Sun Lakes Democratic club:
I don’t know if you read this article on CommonDreams, but I wanted to pass it on as I think it is very important. I am interested in seeing if the Democratic Club would be interested in working with me in getting Sun Lakers to boycott Pepsi Products until they stop using GE ingredients in their products.
Let me know what you think.
Best Wishes
Christine Cosser
The Sept. meeting is in a couple of weeks so hopefully they will feel like I do that people need to boycott Pepsi until they stop using GE items in their products.
Who knows maybe Sun Lakes will start a wave of movement around the country of people boycotting Pepsi until they STOP using GE igredigents.
I just heard from the Democratic club and they are considering working with me to boycott pepsi regarding this. I am looking forward to being active this fall. I know people don’t understand me and that is ok.