To President/Prime Minister/Minister
I am writing to you on behalf of [name of organisation] to request that South Africa enacts compulsory labelling legislation for foods containing genetically modified (GM) food.
[Name of organisation] has as its mission [brief account of your aims]. We are a member of SAFeAGE, an NGO with 350 000 members, and Consumers International, a global federation of consumer organisations, with 250 members in 115 countries.
More and more of the food produced in the world is being genetically modified. Already there are modified soybeans, papayas, squash, potatoes and rapeseeds on the dinner table in some countries. Yet the experimental nature of this new technology raises concerns for consumers about its safety for human consumption and for the environment.
Consumers have a basic right to know what they are purchasing and eating. GM foods are different from conventional foods because genetic material has been added to them which could not occur in normal plant breeding. For example, maize that has had genetic material from viruses and bacteria added to it in the laboratory which cause a bacterial pesticide to be produced throughout the plant, is fundamentally different from conventional maize.
Labels give vital information about the ingredients in our food. When products are appropriately labelled, consumers are able to make informed choices based on safety, environmental, ethical, religious or moral concerns.
At present about a third of the world’s population live in countries that have mandatory labelling of GMO food, including citizens of Brazil, China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Australia.
We therefore request that compulsory labelling of GM foods be adopted immediately in name of country.
Please write back to name of consumer group and let us know your position on this important issue for consumers.
Yours sincerely,
XXXX (your name and position)
XXXX (name of consumer group)