Food & Water Watch and California Right to Know are not giving up on the GMO labeling fight. Last year Prop 37, a major initiative by the latter group failed in the November ballot, after massive spending by industry groups committed to stop labeling. Since then, more than 30 states have proposed GMO labeling laws; Connecticut and Maine have passed those measures into law. Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch said in a statement, "the biotech industry's latest marketing tactic is a website, GMO Answers, which vows 'transparency', but the industry has a track record of being anything but transparent. They spend millions in marketing and lobbying against popular GMO labeling efforts. Their control of patents has prevented research from being done on the … [Read more...]
Non-GMO Project Gets Verified Label Approval
The Non-GMO Project recently won a victory with the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service), which approved a non-GMO label claim last week. The Project has been working for a year to get approval of the label, which will allow facilities that offer non-GMO meat or liquid eggs to market their products. The labels will only apply to foods subject to FSIS oversight. Since meat and eggs can't be tested for genetic modification, the animal feed will be tested. Supplemental language in the label definition clarifies this fact. The verification mark. The verification process assesses compliance with the Project's standards. Core requirements are traceability, segregation, and testing at critical control points. Other standards include risk assessment, sampling techniques, and quality … [Read more...]
Toxicology Study on Pigs Fed GMO Foods Finds Problems
A study published in the Journal of Organic Systems, conducted by U.S. and Australian researchers on pigs fed genetically modified foods (GMOs), found problems with the animals given the altered foods. The animals fed GMO corn and soy had a higher rate of stomach inflammation and developed heavier uteri. This study was conducted because many feeding studies on the safety of GM crops use non-mammals that are not physiologically comparable to human beings, or animals that are fed the crop in a form that humans don't eat. Other studies only measure body weight, carcass weight, breast meat or milk production yields and don't consider health outcomes. Scientists followed 168 pigs from weaning age to slaughter over a 22.4 week time period. Half of the pigs ate a diet based on … [Read more...]
Chipotle Labels GMO Ingredients
Chipotle is one of the first chain restaurants in the country to make information about genetically modified ingredients available to consumers. Because space is limited on store menu boards, the information is available on the company's website. Chipotle customers who have concerns about genetically engineered foods may be surprised to discover how many of the ingredients fall under this category: all of the tortillas, rice, beef, chicken and fajita vegetables, for example; but they aren't alone. Because labeling these foods is not required, most Americans have no idea if the food they has been genetically modified, but they'd like to. More than 90 percent of Americans think genetically engineered foods should be labeled. It's required in dozens of countries, but not in the U.S. … [Read more...]
Judge Says FDA Should Decide if GMOs are “All-Natural”
In the lawsuit Elizabeth Cox v. Gruma Corporation over the "all-natural" claim on the label of Mission tortilla chips, District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers recommends that the FDA should decide if GMO products can be labeled as such. The plaintiff contends that there is a "gaping hold in the current regulatory landscape for 'natural' claims and GMOs." The court stayed the action for six months to give the government time to decide whether genetically engineered foods can be labeled "natural". Otherwise, the Judge wrote in her decision, "the Court would risk usurping the FDA's interpretive authority." Mission tortilla chips contain GMO corn. The lawsuit states that "because Defendant's Products contain genetically modified organisms in the form of corn grown from bioengineered, … [Read more...]
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Monsanto
The Center for Food Safety and Pacific Northwest wheat farmers have filed a class action lawsuit against Monsanto. Last month, illegal genetically engineered, glyphosate-resistant wheat plants were found growing in Oregon. That what has not been approved for sale or commercial production in the U.S. Importers such as South Korea, Japan, and the EU enacted restrictions on American wheat after the discovery. Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety said in a statement, "Monsanto has put our farmer's wheat export at grave risk. Billions of dollars, and our food supply, is at risk because of Monsanto's negligence. They must be held accountable." The wheat was grown in field tests in 16 states from 1998 to 2005. Monsanto gave up its pursuit of regulatory approval … [Read more...]
Target Joins List of Retailers Saying No To GE Salmon
Target has joined the list of retailers pledging to keep genetically engineered (GE) salmon out of their stores if the GE fish is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA will likely not requie labeling of genetically engineered salmon, if it's approved, leaving consumers with no way of knowing if the fish they are buying is natural engineered. During the comment period on GE salmon, more than 1.5 million people submitted comments to the FDA opposing the approval of what would be the first-ever GE animal approved for human consumption. To help consumers, a coalition of 30 groups including Friends of the Earth, the Center for Food Safety, Food & Water Watch, and Consumers Union; have asked grocery stores, seafood restaurants, chefs, and seafood companies to … [Read more...]
Unapproved Genetically Engineered Wheat Found Growing in Oregon
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced this week that genetically engineered glyphosate-resistant wheat plants have been found growing in Oregon. This is the same Roundup resistant wheat variety that was field-tested by Monsanto from 1998 to 2005 but was rejected. There are no GMO wheat varieties approved for sale or commercial production in this country or anywhere else at this time. While this discovery is not a food safety concern, it does highlight one of the concerns of the anti-GMO movement: that these altered genes will find their way into other wild plants. THe FDA, meanwhile, states that "this variety is as safe as non-GE wheat currently on the market." This discovery may mean that the Plant Protection Act has been violated. This law states … [Read more...]
Senate Votes Down GMO Labeling Amendment
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted against an amendment to the Farm Bill that would have allowed states to decide if they wanted to require labels on genetically modified foods. Senate Amendment 965 was sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Sanders said the amendment was intended to protect states from lawsuits by companies that manufacture the engineered seeds. Other amendments to mandate labeling of genetically engineered foods are still pending in Congress. Today, Senator Barbara Milkulski (D-MD) said she was cosponsoring the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act, that would require the FDA to clearly label GMO foods "so that consumers can make informed choices about what they eat." That bill was introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and is also cosponsored by Lisa … [Read more...]
USDA Prepares for Environmental Impact Statements on New GMO Crops
Last week the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced they are going to prepare two separate environmental impact statements (EIS) to "better inform decision-making regarding the regulatory status of crops genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicides known as 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and Dicamba. In other words, instead of simply approving these new crops, as expected, the government is going to investigate these new seeds further. This comes as a shock to Dow, who expected the USDA to approved the crops last December. In January, the company said that "approvals will be in place for sale in late 2013". This delay means the GE crops will not be available for planting in 2014 either. Under the National Environmental Policy Act … [Read more...]
