The Center for Food Safety reports that more than 700 chefs are telling members of Congress to mandate labeling of GMO foods. A petition was delivered on December 2, 2014 to advance legislation called the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR).
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The petition states, “as chefs, we know that choosing the right ingredients is an absolutely critical part of cooking. But when it comes to whether our ingredients contain genetically modified organisms, we’re in the dark. It’s time for Congress to move us forward, not backward, when it comes to our right to know what’s in our food.” The chefs who signed the petition include Art Smith, Tom Colicchio, Danielle Vogel, Andrea Reusing, and José Andrés.
Food safety and consumer advocates, including Environmental Working Group, Just Label It, and Food Policy Action applaud the move. Violet Batcha, communications and social media manager for Just Label It said, “Congress has an opportunity to stand up for the 93 percent of Americans who want to know more about whether their food has been genetically modified. It’s time to choose the rights of their constituents over the profits of food manufacturers and the biotech industry.”
Sixty four other countries mandate labeling of GMO or GE ingredients in foods. Colin O’Neil, director of government affairs at Center for Food Safety said, “this is about transparency in the marketplace and preventing consumer deception. Consumers can only make informed decisions when they are given the information to do so. We require labels on everything from juice from concentrate to foods that have been irradiated; why should genetic engineering be any different?”
