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The subject of genetically modified crops is full of passionate voices on both sides. We covered the issue in Wednesday's story. Even so, some readers may still walk away with questions about whether to avoid them or how to do so if they wish.
These extra morsels may help make this huge subject more digestible.
How much do stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market vet their products for eco- and health-conscious shoppers?
We had discussions with both stores for the story. Both companies are very attuned to customer concerns about GMOs, and say they are doing what they can to remove and reduce them in their stores. Representatives for the Non-GMO Project give high marks to Whole Foods Market for doing such things as getting their 365 Every Day Values store brand verified non-GMO - and strongly encouraging suppliers of their other products to enroll in the non-GMO program.
In a statement, Trader Joe's told us that "all products in Trader Joe's private label are sourced from non-genetically modified ingredients. Our efforts began in 2001, when we determined that, given a choice, our customers would prefer to eat foods and beverages made without the use of genetically engineered ingredients. Our process has been to identify any product containing ingredients that could potentially be derived from genetically engineered crops and work with our suppliers to replace offending ingredients with acceptable alternatives."
So if Whole Foods and Trader Joe's are working so hard to get GMOs out of the food they sell, why are they being targeted by the Organic Consumers Association for protest? Why isn't the OCA going after mainstream grocers?
The OCA's Alexis Baden-Mayer gets this questions all the time. Here's her response:
"A lot of people ask 'Why not Walmart?' Well, we have action alerts about them, too, and will get to them eventually. But right now Whole Foods is in major cities and it's in rich neighborhoods and they serve a certain demographic who trust them. We believe Walmart will get to it but they will follow Whole Foods. No one is going to do better than Whole Foods. They will always been the gold standard for meeting these consumer issues. They're the leader."
Comment: The Organic Consumers Association is targeting Whole Foods for protest because they know many of their 'natural products' contain GMO's read the following for more information The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?:
Whole Food's Dirty Little Secret: Most of the So-Called "Natural" Processed Foods and Animal Products They Sell Are Contaminated with GMOs
The main reason, however, why Whole Foods is pleading for coexistence with Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, BASF and the rest of the biotech bullies, is that they desperately want the controversy surrounding genetically engineered foods and crops to go away. Why? Because they know, just as we do, that 2/3 of WFM's $9 billion annual sales is derived from so-called "natural" processed foods and animal products that are contaminated with GMOs. We and our allies have tested their so-called "natural" products (no doubt WFM's lab has too) containing non-organic corn and soy, and guess what: they're all contaminated with GMOs, in contrast to their certified organic products, which are basically free of GMOs, or else contain barely detectable trace amounts.
Approximately 2/3 of the products sold by Whole Foods Market and their main distributor, United Natural Foods (UNFI) are not certified organic, but rather are conventional (chemical-intensive and GMO-tainted) foods and products disguised as "natural."
Unprecedented wholesale and retail control of the organic marketplace by UNFI and Whole Foods, employing a business model of selling twice as much so-called "natural" food as certified organic food, coupled with the takeover of many organic companies by multinational food corporations such as Dean Foods, threatens the growth of the organic movement.
If government agencies think these foods are safe, why all the protest and resistance?
I was surprised to find during my reporting that the Food and Drug Administration has actually never declared that they are entirely safe for human consumption - instead, they say that the food producers who make them believe they are safe for human consumption. That's why the anti-GMO camp would like to see them labeled until we have scientifically controlled, long-term human and animal studies on their effects.
Comment: The article Genetically Modified Frankenfish! states clearly how organizations like the FDA rush to approve GM products that are later found to have serious health risks:
One major problem is that the FDA has historically rushed to approve genetically modified products that are later found to be dangerous. For example, the Flavr Savr tomato was genetically engineered in the early 1990s by Calgene Inc. (now owned by Monsanto); it was designed to stay fresh on store shelves longer than regular tomatoes. Even though the FDA's own scientific advisers were concerned over Calgene's findings, which showed stomach lesions in lab rats that ingested the GM tomato, the Flavr Savr went to market!
The FDA should certainly have required the Flavr Savr to be labeled as GM: not only were there significant "material differences" between it and a non-GM tomato in terms of its taste, its risk of fungal diseases, and other physical problems, but more importantly, the Flavr Savr tomato was never deemed safe. According to biologist Arpad Pusztai, "the claim that these GM tomatoes were safe as conventional ones is at best premature and, at worst, faulty." The tomato was withdrawn from the market in 1997.
Why doesn't the U.S. require labeling of genetically modified foods when other countries do?
People have different answers for that. The GMO industry says it's because labels aren't necessary, aren't wanted by consumers and would be confusing. Some consumer, policy and scientific groups say it's because if Americans knew how much of their foods were genetically modified, they wouldn't buy them.
Comment: Some food for thought: Half of All Americans Wouldn't Buy FrankenFoods...If They Could Tell The Difference. In addition mainstream regulatory organizations such as the FDA and USDA oppose labeling of GMO foods:
FDA won't allow food to be labeled free of genetic modification
Corruption: USDA Looks Out Only for Self Interests
U.S. Opposes Honest Labeling of GMO Foods
Not only is there no mandatory labeling of products sold in the U.S. that contain GMO ingredients, but the FDA and USDA now want to prohibit the labeling of products that do not contain GMO ingredients. In other words, the FDA and USDA are trying to outlaw truth in labeling and are openly working deceive the public.Recently the following information came out about the Organic Trade Association:
Among those opposing the draft U.S. position on GMOs are members of the Consumers Union, the Organic Trade Association, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Center for Food Safety.
The FDA and USDA actually had the audacity to include in the draft position that mandatory labeling of GMOs is "false, misleading [and] deceptive" because it implies that there is a difference between GMO ingredients and non-GMO ingredients.
Charges of Corruption Taint Organic Trade Association
A new short film claims that the board of the Organic Trade Association (OTA) is undermining the ethic of of the organic movement. The film, was released by an anonymous person or group called Organic Spies, suggests that at least four current board members of the OTA are in conflict of interest because the companies they represent overwhelmingly rely on genetically engineered ingredients, something that is anathema to the organic movement.
I've heard that genetically modified crops can boost yields, resist droughts and feed the world. Shouldn't we use them to help solve hunger?
When I asked the Biotechnology Industry Organization if there are any genetically modified yield boosting or drought-resistant crops on the market, they said there were not.
Some commercially-grown, genetically-engineered crops have a repellent toxin in them, or are bred to resist a certain pesticide, commercially called Roundup. BIO also told me that there is a tiny percentage of special soy produced through selective breeding followed by genetic modification that has low-linolenic acid.
Comment: Whenever the issue of GMO foods comes up supporters of the bio tech industry always use the same argument: 'Genetically Modified Crops are going to feed the world'
Scientists who are NOT working for large agri-chemical and bio tech companies have stated time and again that the data shows that GM crops do not produce more food.
The Union of Concerned Scientists
A comprehensive analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists concluded that GMOs do not increase yield; in fact, on average they reduce yield. A USDA study showed that farmers' income doesn't increase, and in some cases, it decreases. And it doesn't help the overall economy either.According the author Dr. Jeffery Smith
The IAASTD (The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development) report, for example, concluded that the current generation of GMOs does not reduce hunger and poverty, does not improve nutrition, and does not facilitate social and environmental sustainability.
The 'feeding a hungry world' argument is always used when corporations want to 'create' food using mad science and except consumers to be willing guinea pigs. Then years later science emerges that experimental technology like Genetically Modified Organisms in plants and animals come with unknown side effects and health risks.
to accept this kind of reasoning:
"People have different answers for that. The GMO industry says it's because labels aren't necessary, aren't wanted by consumers and would be confusing. Some consumer, policy and scientific groups say it's because if Americans knew how much of their foods were genetically modified, they wouldn't buy them. "
Take a single label that says "contains GMO, genetically modified food", with just the GMO in big so you recognice the label. They're basically saying "oh the customers are stupid, we shouldn't trouble their heads with the little stuff" and pushing their poisons like a real mafia. I'm a man of peace, but the day GMO stuff comes to my country I take arms. That's a promise.