Eaters demand right to know if GMO

"This food contains genetically modified ingredients." Such a label on food items is being demanded by food-conscious individuals, as demonstrated in Foley Square of Manhattan's Civic Center neighborhood yesterday. Organic Consumers Assocation says that yesterday's "World Food Day" was the largest day of action against genetically engineered food (or genetically modified organisms) in US history, as part of its "Millions Against Monsanto Campaign" and falling within "Non-GMO Month," A.K.A. October.

Though GMOs have increasingly characterized American food since 1996, these actions come in response to the Obama Administration's approval of Monsanto's genetically engineered sweet corn, alfalfa and sugar beets. The usual approval process was fast tracked for sweet corn in particular, because it involves a combination of two previously approved traits, according to Food and Water Watch in a blast-email. The group also says that the combination of traits has never been through a safety evaluation.

GMOs in agriculture are crops with built-in pesticides or other features. The laboratory process involves inserting the gene of one organism into another. Monsanto is regarded as nearly synonymous with GMOs because their patented GE products accounted for 95% of soybeans and 80% of corn in the US in 2009. Though GMOs might be found amongst the vegetables, it is more likely to be found in processed food. A 2011 report of the Congressional Research Service states: "60%-70% of all processed U.S. foods likely contain some GE material."

"I didn't realize that there was, you know, Kellogs Cereal and General Mills and all these major brands have genetically engineered ingredients in them," said Dawn Corbett-Nivison, a concerned mother who lives on an organic farm in New Jersey. "It's crept in," she said, "because our FDA is not doing their job and it's crept in because Monsanto and Syngenta and Bayer and all those other biochemical corporations, they're lobbying."

The fight is also particularly against Monsanto because they spent "over 53 million dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions" between January 1999 and June 2010, said Eric Weltman of Food and Water Watch. Yet, on the other side of the desk, are our representatives. "We have an administration in the White House that has accelerated the approval of genetically modified foods," Weltman added. 

Monsanto addressed the question of labeling on their website in 2009. "To date," reads the site, "no approved crop is either an allergen, or has any significant nutritional differences from non-GM counterparts." In their view, if the food doesn't make any health difference, the labeling would be superfluous. "Requiring labeling for ingredients that don't pose a health issue would undermine both our labeling laws and consumer confidence. Ensuring that such labeling is accurate would also put a huge burden on regulatory agencies." [Bold text not added]. 

An ABC News poll released in June of 2001 agrees with the theory of consumer confidence. The poll taken of 1,024 people throughout the nation by phone and conducted by TNS Intersearch found that 93% of people were in favor of mandatory labeling of GE food. Fifty two percent of those polled said that they didn't believe GE food was safe and 13% were unsure. 

The question is: even if the food serves the same function in the same quality as natural food, should people still be granted the choice?

Speakers at the rally held that there may be something philosophically and physically wrong with GMOs, referring to intuition and independent studies that concluded there were deleterious health effects. "[Monsanto is] injecting their genetically modified seeds with... the same pesticides that make up the chemical compound of agent orange," said Kelly L Derricks of Agent Orange Legacy. 

"Genetic engineering means every day is Halloween," said Howard Brandstein from the NOFA New York Policy Committee. "Golden rice," for example, "has very high amounts of vitamin E, allegedly to improve the eye sight of third world peoples but it has so much vitamin A that you would probably need two or three sets of eyes to absorb all of this vitamin A."

The Just Label It campaign's website links to an abstract of a 2011 study from the University of Sherbrooke Hospital Centre in Quebec entitled: "Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada." Though the actual publication is not available in the the linked page, the scientific language was translated on the Just Label It site to say that "the insecticide in GE corn is now showing up in our bloodstream and the umbilical cord blood of pregnant women."

The outrage is not at all in the seed. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is charged by Food and Water Watch for approving the pesticide-resistant GE alfalfa, which they say "threatens the lives of organic farmers due to widespread GE contamination." Monsanto has threatened to sue hundreds of farmers for using their patented seeds, or intellectual property, which opponents often argue is a result of erosion. "If other farmers nearby are growing genetically modified crops," said rally speaker, Monique Milleson of Ant Hill Farm in Pennsylvania, "they could cross pollinate with our crops and contaminate them, making our seed unviable so that we can't save it and we can't plant it." Milleson's farm is not certified organic but certified natural. "We wouldn't be able to make the statement that we're certified natural."

Some of the speakers expressed that they felt the President sold them out. On the 2007 campaign trail, Mr. Obama said, as shared in a recent Food Democracy Now! video, "We'll let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they're buying." 

Unlike California's highly publicized ballot initiative to mandate GMO labels on food, New York has some less heard of legislation that was shared at the rally. Some are as follows:

SB 790 - Organic Transition Tax Exemption Bill

SB 785 - Senate Bill to Protect Farmers from Monsanto's Lawsuits

AB 4825 - A Bill to Ban Genetically Engineered Pharmaceutical and Industrial Crops

AB 3716 - Genetically Engineered Seed Labeling Bill

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