- The White House announced on 5-13-01 that it plans to
begin serving some genetically modified foods at official government functions.
The move is intended to head off criticism by environmental and consumer
groups that the altered foods are unsafe.
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- "You really can't tell the difference," said
White House chef Daniel Arreido, the former executive chef at Laylo in
Austin, Texas, who recently replaced long-time Clinton cook Walter Scheib
III. "It may be genetically altered but it tastes just the same,"
said Arreido, noting that the first family already consumes milk containing
bovine growth hormone.
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- The White House plans to debut the new food items at
a state dinner next month for French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. According
to Arreido, the menu for the dinner will include such delicacies as pan-seared
genetically altered super salmon and Texas-style corn pudding made with
Star Link corn. "These are traditional Texas recipes," said Arreido,
"but with a special twist."
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- A spokesman for the French Embassy claimed to be unaware
of the changes to the White House meal plan.
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- Naomi Jurgen-Stoors, a spokeswoman for the activist group
Healthy Planet, which supports mandatory labeling on all products containing
genetically modified ingredients, said that the White House announcement
had come as a surprise. "Our main problem with GM food, what we call
'franken food,' is that its long-term impact on humans has never been tested,"
said Jurgen-Stoors. "Now I guess we'll just have to wait and see what
happens to the first family."
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- Not everyone in the Bush administration supports the
new policy, which is said to have been the idea of Vice President Dick
Cheney. Just last weekend, Environmental Protection Agency chief Christine
Todd Whitman voiced concern about the safety of the altered foods while
appearing on the weekly political talk show Meet the Press. "This
administration plans to keep a watchful eye on these products," said
Whitman.
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- For the first family, that "watchful eye" may
be on the lookout for seconds.
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