Wrote an article for the SM Observer on the GMO Ballot Initiative!
Californians
Pushing Hard for Ballot Initiative to Label GMOs
The
demand to label GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) is picking up steam both
locally with California being the first state to attempt a ballot initiative
requiring the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food through the
California Right to Know campaign, and also nationally. Genetically Modified Organisms
(GMOs) are experimental plants and animals that have been genetically
engineered in a laboratory with DNA from other plants, animals, bacteria, and
viruses.
Although
GMO ingredients (which is also sometimes referred to as GE food (Genetically
Engineered food) are found in 80% of packaged foods in the U.S., they have not
been proven safe as the long term consequences of GMOs on human beings’ health
and environment have not been adequately investigated. Forty countries,
including Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, South Korea, China, Brazil,
Mexico, and all of the European Union nations, either have significant
restrictions or outright bans on the production of GMOs because they are not
considered proven safe.
GMOs
exist for two main reasons: 1) Seed producers modify their seed to make them
resistant to their brand of herbicide 2) Seed producers modify plants to
contain built-in pesticides. As of 2010, GMOs constituted 86% of the
Corn, 90% of the Canola, 93% of the Soy, and 93% of the Cotton grown in the
U.S. GMO crops are also added to
processed foods as oils, sweeteners, and soy proteins and in things like amino
acids, aspartame, vitamin C, flavorings (both natural and artificial),
maltodextrins and more.
At
this time neither Canada or the United States require the labeling of
genetically engineered food. But that is starting to change with
political movements on the state (California Right to Know) and national level
(Just Label It). With three weeks
left to collect the necessary 800,000 signatures before the April 22nd deadline,
signature gatherers are working furiously to collect signatures in front of
Santa Monica foodie staples like the Santa Monica Co-Op and the Farmers
Markets.
Because
it is a state ballot initiative all signatures must be signed with pen and
paper in person only. The actual number to get on the California ballot 504,760
signatures, but signatures can get thrown out for a number of reasons: being
illegible, spelling mistakes, wrong county, etc. Thus California Right to Know’s experts have informed them
to figure on getting 800,000 signatures to make sure they have enough that
qualify. Although California has
the potential to be the first state to put GMO labeling to a vote it is not in
any the only state discussing the issue.
Vermont and Florida are planning on pursuing the 2013 ballot session,
with ten other states potentially looking into GMO labeling for the future.
The
main reason for the demand for labeling is that there has been enough
independent data to suggest possible health risks. Given those findings some people don’t want to eat GMOs but
are unable to know which foods GMOs are in if they aren’t labeled. For the Labelers it is a basic consumer
right: that given the conflicting data and mistrust in an industry that has
been proven to hide negative findings, the American public have the right to
know what they’re buying and putting in their and their children’s mouths.
As
Right to Know’s website states, “What’s the issue? If GMOs are so great, why
not advertise them? Why does the industry that profits from them fight
labeling so vehemently and put so many of their resources into keeping their
presence in our foods a secret? Why are corporate rights continually
given precedence over consumer rights?”
Nationally,
the FDA’s position on GMOS is that they are unaware of any risks with GMOs and
that GMOs are “substantially equivalent” to their non-GMO counterparts. Just Label It is a coalition of more
than 500 organizations working together at the federal level for mandatory
labeling of genetically engineered food. Over one million people have
signed the online petition contacting the FDA and telling them United States
citizens have a right to know what's in their food. But in recent days, those million plus collective
signatures, more than any other petition submitted to the FDA in its history,
that were collected in less than 180 days by Just Label It, will only be
counted as 394 because of an FDA rule that states that if thousand and
thousands of people sign a single petition or submit the same form letter they
are only counted as one collective signature.
Now
in the world of GMOs the player who has the most to lose by a label mandate is
Monsanto, the agricultural multinational at the forefront of the GMO
world.
And
who is the senior adviser for the FDA?
Michael Taylor, former vice president and lobbyist for Monsanto. More than 433,000 have signed the
petition (on signon.org, a petition signing tool created by Moveon.org) urging
President Barack Obama to reconsider his 2009 appointment of Taylor who, to
many, represents the epitome of the revolving door between industry executives (Monsanto)
and regulatory agency executives (the FDA). The petition demanding the removal of Taylor from the FDA
notes: “Taylor is the same person who as a high-ranking official at the FDA in
the 1990s promoted allowing genetically modified organisms into the U.S. food
supply without undergoing a single test to determine their safety or risks.
This is a travesty.”
Until
GMO labeling is a right in both California and the United States Americans can
educate themselves through the Non-GMO Project. The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization committed
to preserving and building sources of Non-GMO products and educating
consumers. Their website offers a database of brands and products that
have been verified by the Non-GMO Project as GMO free. They can also chose to purchase organic
food as the USDA certification states that “the use of genetically engineered
organisms and their products are prohibited at any stage in organic production
processing or handling.”
That
is until the right that over forty countries around the world already have
becomes a reality in both the state of California and the United States at
large.
Kat
Thomas is a food writer in Santa Monica. To find out more about her you can check out:
edibleskinny.com
Nine
out of 10 Americans support mandatory GMO labeling, yet this act would block
all states from labeling genetically engineered foods, and it would also make
it much harder for the FDA to ever mandate national labeling. 
