“We are disappointed that Anheuser-Busch didn’t simply come
clean and join other major brewing concerns, like Heineken, that
have gone GE free,” said Dr. Doreen Stabinsky, Greenpeace
International GE campaigner. “Anheuser-Busch’s threat of legal
action is no way to address the public concerns raised by
Greenpeace. The solution is for Anheuser-Busch to reassure its
customers in the U.S. and abroad about the purity of its product.
It’s a simple question of the public’s right to know.”
In the faxed reply to a fax from Anheuser-Busch to Greenpeace
sent Monday, Greenpeace International’s lawyer reiterates a call
for the company to issue a clear public statement giving details of
the company’s global policy on genetic engineering and the testing
and segregation systems it has in place to ensure that its export
production is entirely GE-free and that U.S. consumers have the
same right to GE-free beer as Europeans.
The problem at the root of the dispute emerged in 2006 when
various strains of GE rice contaminated a significant proportion of
the U.S. long grain rice crop. While Anheuser-Busch was not
responsible for the contamination, independent analyses, conducted
recently on behalf of Greenpeace, revealed the presence of GE rice
in three of four samples of rice taken from a mill in Arkansas that
is operated by Anheuser-Busch to brew Budweiser. The GE rice in
question, Bayer LL601, is not approved for use in any country other
than the United States. It was approved in the U.S. only after the
extent of the contamination became apparent.
“It is not unreasonable to insist that beer drinkers in the U.S.
are guaranteed the same degree of assurance against genetically
modified products as consumers abroad,” continued Dr.
Stabinsky.
“Anheuser-Busch’s claims that Greenpeace is retaliating against
the company for refusing to join an advocacy campaign against GE
crops is misleading,” added Stabinsky. “We told Anheuser-Busch
from day one that the test results would be made public. However,
we suggest that instead of supporting the GE industry by buying
GE-contaminated rice, the company use its considerable influence to
support U.S. farmers and traders who are now suing Bayer in an
attempt to recover the hundreds of millions of dollars they have
lost as a result of the contamination.”
VVPR info: [email protected]
Notes: Correspondence between Greenpeace and Anheuser-Busch can be found at: http://usaphoto.greenpeace.org/gebud
