Ok folks, its time to get serious. The USDA is drafting rules for the labeling of genetically modified organisms (aka GMOs). Important decisions rest in the USDA’s hands, including how to define a GMO and how GMO ingredients will be disclosed.
If you care about knowing where your food comes from, read no further. Hop over here, sign the petition and pick up your proverbial gold star.
If you need a little more information, keep reading.
We’re big supporters of Just Label It, which is why we joined the non-profit in urging the USDA to create clear, consumer-friendly, comprehensive GMO-labeling standards. When it comes to GMOs our position is straightforward: These foods should not exist.
We believe GMO farming practices are harmful and have lead to the creation of “superweeds” and the subsequent increased use of toxic herbicides. We recognize that the most commonly used of these herbicides, Roundup, is associated with a host of environmental ills including ocean dead zones and algal blooms.
We believe the consumption of GMO foods can negatively impact health. Though the U.S. Food & Drug Administration ruled in 1992 “that genetically engineered foods present no different risks than traditional foods,” we recognize recent studies that show this not to be the case including research supported by the Center For Food Safety which associates GMOs with toxicity, allergic reactions, antibiotic resistance, immune-suppression, cancer and loss of nutrition.
We believe sustainable farming practices will feed the world, not GMOs. According to Mark Bittman, “The world has long produced enough calories, around 2,700 per day per human, more than enough to meet the U.N. projection of a population of nine billion in 2050, up from the current seven billion” (NYT Opinion, Oct. 15, 2013). At the end of the day, people are hungry because they do not have food sovereignty. When farmers have land, access to markets and control of the seed supply, they can indeed feed the world.
We believe consumers have a right to know where their food comes from. Because these foods are not labeled in the U.S., it’s extremely difficult to avoid GMO exposure. Research conducted by the Environmental Working Group shows that Americans eat their weight and more in GMO foods every year. Naturally, Big Food and Big Ag, which profit from consumer ignorance are pressuring the USDA to create a special loophole for GMO sugars and oils. The USDA needs to know that we won’t stand for such irresponsible regulation.
All Americans should be able to easily discern what they are buying and feeding their families just like consumers in 64 countries around the world.
Will you join us?
By signing this petition you advocate for a mandatory GMO disclosure standard that applies to all GMO foods, including GMO sugars and oils and foods produced with new forms of genetic engineering.
