Do you care about labeling of foods containing genetically modified ingredients? If so, read on. If you don’t care, I encourage you to read more about this issue here and check out this documentary The Future of Food.
Please contact your representatives and ask them to OPPOSE HR 1599
The reasons why we oppose the use of GMO or GE technology in farming, and support labeling, are as follows:
Current laws place responsibility on organic farmers to prevent contamination, not for farmers using GE technology to keep it contained. Farmers face significant financial risk if their organic crops are contaminated and cannot be sold as organic, if they are sued for patent infringement due to contamination, or if their seed stock is contaminated due to cross-pollination and they lose valuable traits and genetic resources.
Increased application of glyphosate (Roundup) to corn and soy crops as they are engineered to be resistant to this herbicide, and the subsequent development of herbicide resistant “superweeds.”
Consolidation of the food supply is dangerous – we don’t want one or two corporations owning the genetic resources to two major food crops (corn and soy) as private property.
We believe it is unethical and impractical to be able to patent a living organism which can reproduce itself in the environment. Once a plant is out in the environment, you can never remove those genetics from interacting with other species and the environment as a whole. Living things reproduce themselves, even if they are not “supposed to” due to our intellectual property laws.
Since it’s currently legal and use of GE corn and soy is commonplace (over 90% of these crops are GE), the next best thing is to require labeling so that you can know what you are consuming and supporting with your purchases.
There is not much good data on safety for human consumption in the short or long-term, mainly because we can’t easily identify foods with GE ingredients without labeling. Currently foods with GE ingredients are regulated as any other foods, with no special requirements for testing or labeling. Our personal feeling is that if GE foods were so great, the industry would want to educate consumers, label and promote these products. Instead, they are working to make sure we CANNOT label them.
What are they trying to hide? Industry groups will point to research that shows that people oppose genetic engineering technology even when they don’t have a good understanding of the science of how it works. While this is true, our personal view is that means it’s up to the industry promoting and profiting from this technology to educate the public rather than keep them in the dark about what is in food products.
It’s the same way we try to educate consumers about what meaning of USDA Certified organic. It doesn’t mean “no fertilizer,” and it doesn’t mean “no pesticides.” Instead, it means we use a selection of fertilizers and pest control products that are not synthetic, non-toxic or less toxic to non-target species and humans, and not derived from petroleum. If organic farming was so easy without fertility or pest control measures, chemical and synthetic inputs wouldn’t have become so widespread.
Our dream is that one day produce in the grocery store will have the information of all the “ingredients,” including fertilizers and pest control products so you can see more into the difference in production methods between organic and conventional produce.
Regarding HR 1599 (Read the actual text of the bill here)
“Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015”
We recently received an email from Food & Water Watch letting us know about a bill before congress that would prohibit GMO labeling, HR 1599. Misleadingly named the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, many organizers refer to it as the DARK Act (Deny Americans Right to Know). Last month Food and Water Watch activists in south Florida delivered up to 20,000 petition signatures to 5 local congressional offices showing that Floridians want legislation mandating GMO labeling, not prohibiting it.
Now we are asking you to call your own representative and ask them to vote against this bill because you have a right to know what is in your food. To find your representative go to http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and enter your home zip code.
I asked Food & Water Watch if this legislation
1) would prohibit mandatory labeling, and
2) is viewed as an infringement up on states’ rights
Here is their answer (my emphasis added):
Yes, voluntary labeling is what we have now and this bill would continue to allow that. However, what that means is companies who want to advertise that their product contains GMOs may do so; none seem to want to do that so far. If you want to advertise that your product is GMO free, then you have to go through an ongoing paid certification process just as you would to advertise organic. It seems unfair that those producing traditional foods and/ or using more sustainable means have to pay (passing cost on to consumers) to distinguish themselves from products that are being made in ways that many people are uncomfortable with for various reasons. We think GMO labeling should be mandatory because people have a right to know and choose what they are buying and there needs to be some sort of medical traceability in case any issues do arise.
HR1599 is viewed as an infringement on state’s rights to have stricter guidelines but it is also viewed as an infringement on the federal government’s ability to enact legislation regulating industry since it also prohibits the FDA from mandating labeling of GMOs as a class or labeling the process of genetic engineering. It would limit the FDA to only labeling individual products that have been proven to pose a health or safety risk which will be difficult since without labeling there is little opportunity for traceability (How do you identify the source of your illness as something you aren’t even aware of being exposed to?). We would prefer a federal bill mandating GMO labeling because we believe all American’s have a right to this information but we also believe in the absence of that, states have a right and responsibility to protect their citizens from deceptive food marketing and bad agricultural practices they may choose to avoid given the opportunity.
Thank you to Food & Water Watch for informing us about this legislation!
Please contact your representatives and ask them to OPPOSE HR 1599