Pepsico, Kraft Foods, Campbell Soup, Solae and Nestlé are among the corporations partnered with a biotech company found using aborted fetal cell lines to test food flavor enhancers, according to a pro-life watchdog group.LifeSite
The internationally recognized biotech company, Senomyx, boasts innovation and success in “flavour programs” designed to reduce MSG, sugar and salt in food and beverage products. Senomyx notes their collaborators provide them research and development funding plus royalties on sales of products using their flavor ingredients.
Pro-life watchdog group, Children of God for Life (CGL), has called upon the public to target the major corporations in a boycott, unless the company ceases to use aborted fetal cell lines in their product testing.
“Using isolated human taste receptors,” the Senomyx website claims, “we created proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems that provide a biochemical or electronic readout when a flavor ingredient interacts with the receptor.”
“What they do not tell the public is that they are using HEK 293 – human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby to produce those receptors,” stated Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director for CGL, the watch dog group that has been monitoring the use of aborted fetal material in medical products and cosmetics for years.
“They could have easily chosen COS (monkey) cells, Chinese Hamster Ovary cells, insect cells or other morally obtained human cells expressing the G protein for taste receptors,” Vinnedge added.
One more reason to buy local.
HT V, Michael B
UPDATE:
I just learned that Campbell's Soup, in response to the concerns raised by pro-life groups, has cut ties with Senomyx, the company that uses fetal cells derived from aborted unborn children for testing. This is great news!
http://www.cogforlife.org/senomyxalert.htm
Here's the relevant information in the updated alert:
"Within hours of our press release, Children of God for Life received notice from Campbell Soup that they have severed their ties with Senomyx.
Stated Juli Mandel Sloves, Senior Manager of Nutrition & Wellness Communications at Campbell Soup Company, "We are no longer in partnership with Senomyx. This fact was discussed during the Senomyx conference call with its investors earlier this month."
If you choose to write to Campbell Soup, please thank them for their decision. Mmmm good!"
2 comments:
I do have to say, despite knowing that Campbells is no longer using the company, it was a bit weird eating my soup for lunch this afternoon.
Now, tell me, why can we not test on animals, but this is ok?
Firstly, how is this any different from using HeLa cells? The embryo (NOT child) is aborted anyway, so we may as well put the cells to good use instead of bitching about it. Secondly, what's unethical is thinking that, as humans, we are in some way more important than any other animal on this planet. Get over yourselves. If you're happy to test on animals then you have no right to morally disagree with this.
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