GM activist: Australians are eating unsafe food

PERTH — A Canadian food safety expert, Dr Shiv Chopra, has claimed the US and Canadian governments are the most corrupt when it comes to unsafe food practices. Australia is not far behind.

More than 100 people gathered at Lotteries House in West Perth on June 20 to hear Chopra promote his new book, Corrupt to the Core.

The book examines dangerous food practices and explores the role multinationals play in putting pressure on governments to accept dangerous products.

It discusses the issues of genetically manipulated foods, pesticides and herbicides, hormones and antibiotics, and rendered dead animal wastes in food production systems.

Chopra played a critical role in banning a genetically engineered bovine growth hormone when he worked for the department of health in Canada.

The hormone is now banned in Australia and other countries. However, he and two colleagues have since been dismissed while trying to prevent the release of other dangerous products.

He recommended Australia follow the European model of food safety.

"Europe has banned hormones, antibiotics and rendered dead animal wastes from animal food production and grows very few GM crops", he said. "It also has transparent GM labelling."

From GLW issue 800