UNITED STATES - A collection of consumer advocacy groups sent out numerous letters to fast food chains on Friday, March 20, asking fast food chains to commit to not purchasing and distributing genetically modified produce.

Despite the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) having approved the products, finding that they are as safe and nutritious as conventional produce, the groups call the modification purely “cosmetic” and unnecessarily “risky” for consumers, according to a report by The Hill.

All changes are not cosmetic, however. One change made in the GMO process has been removing a cancer-causing chemical, Acrylamide, which develops naturally in some conventional produce. 

The groups sent letters to Burger King, Wendy’s, Subway, and Dunkin' Donuts, and have stated that McDonald’s and Gerber already said they have no plans to sell the newly-approved genetically modified products.

“We anticipate that other leading companies will follow suit — particularly those that market apples to children, who are most vulnerable to possible health risks,” Lisa Archer, Technology Program Director for Friends of the Earth, said in a news release, according to The Hill.

The groups involved with the request to the fast food chains include:

• Friends of the Earth
• Consumers Union
• Center for Food Safety
• Environmental Working Group
• Food Democracy Now
• Food & Water Watch
• Green America
• GMO Inside
• Healthy Child Healthy World
• Organic Consumers Association
• Pesticide Action Network
• CREDO

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