> Its is a great sounding argument,  but fails when you put it to the test.

This is a "futility" appeal, a claim that merely because something is not
simple or easy, that it is completely useless to even try.  

> WE want to prove say a "GMO apple"  is safe,  but to what standards?  

In the EU, the specific standards for any GMO would be Regulation No.
1829/2003. Individual national authorities can draft standards under
Directive 2001/18/EC, which regulates the intentional release of GMOs into
the environment.  At the EU level, the European Food and Safety Authority
(EFSA) conducts the required risk assessments.  GMOs, or food and feed
consisting of or containing GMOs, are assigned unique identifiers and are
labeled for traceability and to enable consumers to make fully-informed
choices.  So, like I said, most of the rest of the world has these things
researched, negotiated, and neatly typed up in 3-ring binders, while the US
keeps bickering about if it is even possible to start regulating these
technologies.  (Dare I point out that this is much like our lagging behind
in universal health care and gun control, and for much the same reasons?)

> We don't apply that same standard to a basic apple.

Nonsense - people in the apple biz know better.  Pollinating apples was my
only pollination work, and I learned a bit from my clients.  Most apples
become juice, so the "Juice HACCP Inspection Program - Compliance Program
Guidance Manual 7303.847" is a thick FDA book that hangs over many heads.
But the raw fruit is also subjected to extensive ongoing sampling and
testing to protect food safety.  I still hear things from my apple-grower
and packer friends. Here's just one recent recall from Snapchat messages on
which I was copied in December:

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls/ucm589722.htm
Nyblad Orchards' (of MI) Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, and Golden Delicious apples
recall/destroy order due to Listeria.  
Your tax dollars at work, protecting the public, using metrics, standards,
and regular surveillance.  Yes, even for the humble apple.  (And everyone
should try Honeycrisps, they are a treat.)

> The demand for proof exceeds common sense and comparable information.

"Common sense" includes admitting that a new artificial sweetener likely
needs a lot more scrutiny than sugar, which has a long and well-known track
record.
This same common sense is being used everywhere else, it is only here in the
US have the dunce caps on.  

It's embarrassing. 

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html