Japan moved closer to ending a ban on food products from cloned animals this month as a panel of their experts concluded they are as safe to eat as those from conventionally bred livestock. In the US, the FDA has announced a new, open process for the approval of foods and drugs from genetically engineered animals.

The FDA has indicated no products from genetically engineered foods will be sold without first submitting them to review by a public meeting of independent advisers. However, consumer groups including Consumers Union and the Center for Science in the Public Interest remain critical. The FDA does not require genetically engineered food to be labeled as such, nor has there been study of the potential environmental impact of genetically engineered animals.

The concern over the FDA’s actions is growing more urgent with news that a Massachusetts firm will seek FDA approval this year for a faster growing salmon. One in six of the country’s children are now identified with either a learning or behavior challenge, and researchers like Mark Schauss and physicians like Ken Bock, MD, warn that experimenting with our food supply may have a disastrous outcome. Genetically engineered foods are now on our grocery store shelves. Do they have anything to do with our elevated rates of autism, allergy, asthma, ADHD, cancer, and chronic disease? Will the new, open FDA review process of foods from genetically engineered animals serve the needs of our children and future generations?