July 26, 1999

Week of action over supermarket bias

The Green Party is initiating a "week of action" against supermarkets which are pushing pro-genetic engineering pamphlets on shoppers.

It is working with the groups Revolt Against Genetic Engineering (RAGE), the Safe Food Campaign and Greenpeace, which have been trying to provide more balanced information for consumers on the issue.

"The supermarkets are allowing genetic engineers a say, now it's time for the other side to be heard," Green Party Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said today.

Hundreds of thousands of light-green coloured brochures, headed GM Foods - Answers to Your Questions, have been published by the Grocery Industry Council, and many are being automatically placed in shoppers' bags by supermarket staff.

"The paper purports to be unbiased but uses language of the United States-based food and chemical giant Monsanto," Ms Fitzsimons said.

"It is full of half-truths and carries only one side of the genetic engineering debate. If supermarkets stock it, they should include pamphlets which present the other side."

Questions such as who profits from the technology, who is testing the products, how the consumer can avoid genetically engineered foods, what the potential risks are and how the consumer can know which foods are genetically engineered are not answered in the brochure, she said.

"From today Green Party members around New Zealand are directly approaching supermarket managers, suggesting shops stock balancing genetic engineering literature, either from the Green Party or from community groups such as Revolt Against Genetic Engineering (RAGE)," she said.

ENDS

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