Physicians Answer Questions About Food Biotechnology

By CnAgri2012-07-03 20:04:20 Print

In an effort to improve public understanding of modern food production, the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation has released five videos featuring leading physicians in the fields of pediatrics, food allergy and obstetrics who answer frequently asked questions about food biotechnology. To view the videos, click here.

"Technology, including food biotechnology, has for many years been an important part of producing safe and affordable food for a growing world population, yet questions about certain aspects of safety and benefits remain," said IFIC Foundation President and CEO David Schmidt. "For that reason, we asked leading physicians to respond to a number of common concerns and explain why they are confident in the safety of food produced using biotechnology."

Physicians featured in the videos include:

-- Wesley Burks, MD, Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School and Physician in Chief of the North Carolina Children's Hospital. Dr. Burks currently serves as the president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

-- Laurie Green, MD, founding partner of the Pacific Women's OB/GYN Medical Group in San Francisco, California. Dr. Green is past president of the California Academy of Medicine and past president of the San Francisco Gynecological Society. She is a member of the Susan G. Komen Foundation Board of Directors.

-- Ronald Kleinman, MD, Physician in Chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Chief of the PediatricGastroenterology and Nutrition Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Kleinman also teaches Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

-- Suzanne S. Teuber, MD, professor at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, specializes in allergy and clinical immunology with a particular interest in food allergies of all types. She is the training program director for the Allergy and Immunology Fellowship Program at UC Davis.

Earlier this month, the American Medical Association's (AMA) House of Delegates reaffirmed its support for the continued use of biotechnology in the production of safe, nutritious food. The AMA recognized the continuing validity of the foundational principles of federal regulation that in all aspects, foods produced though biotechnology present no unique hazards or risks than foods produced by other methods. The AMA also stated that "there is no scientific justification for special labeling of bioengineered foods, as a class, and that voluntary labeling is without value unless it is accompanied by focused consumer education." The AMA urged "government, industry, consumer advocacy groups, and the scientific and medical communities to educate the public and improve the availability of unbiased information and research activities on bioengineered foods." These IFIC Foundation videos are consistent with that goal.