Students travel to protest genetically altered cereals

By Kristen Beaumont

Daily Staff Reporter

SNRE senior Elizabeth Hamilton said she worries because no one can guarantee that certain food supplies have not been genetically engineered.

"Obviously the food industry is not regulated enough to make sure that our food remains safe," said Hamilton, a member of Basic Food Group which fights harmful practices in agriculture.

Genetic engineering allows the manipulation and transfer of genetic material from one organism to another. Soybeans and corn are common genetically engineered, or genetically modified foods. Potential health risks when using genetically engineered foods include a trait development that reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics to treat human disease.

Hamilton and other University students traveled Tuesday to Battle Creek to protest use of genetically modified corn and other grains in Kellogg Co.'s cereals, sold in the United States.

The group, Michigan Resistance Against Genetic Engineering, organized the protest to express disapproval of using genetically modified food in the United States. Kellogg discontinued their use in Europe.

The students involved in the protest handed out literature and organically-grown cereal packets to people passing by Festival Park, the site of the protest.

Hamilton said the protesters wanted to create awareness to show Kellogg that consumers are concerned.

The protest follows the mid-October shutdown of a Kellogg manufacturing plant in Memphis, Tenn. Parts of the plant closed due to the possible presence in its shipment of the modified corn called StarLink, which is not federally approved for human consumption. Starlink is used as animal feed but may cause allergies in humans.

Production resumed at the plant last week after they didn't find StarLink.

Joseph Stewart, senior vice president of corporate affairs and chief ethics officer for Kellogg, said there has been intense scientific research into modified crops, and no evidence indicates that they are unsafe for human consumption.

During the protest, Joe Groenke, the Michigan Resistance Against Genetic Engineering spokesman and a University alum, delivered a letter intended for Kellogg CEO Carlos Gutierrez addressing the group's feelings about Kellogg's use of genetically engineered foods.

"They have made us doubt all the promises you have made to us as children and adults about the quality and nutrition of your cereals. In fact your failure to remove them from our food supply has made us stop buying them entirely," the letter said.

Hamilton said the group has proposed a resolution to the Ann Arbor City Council calling for stricter environmental testing and accurate labeling. The council plans to vote on this resolution Nov. 9.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.