Truth in Labeling: Why Less Is Not More With GMO Labeling.

March 24, 2016 – By #South Dakota Farmer Union

 Picture This: A young mother is pushing her cart down the aisle of the local grocery store in preparation for the upcoming Easter holiday. As she peruses potential snacks and other goodies she comes across one package’s label that reads “Contains a GMO product”. What’s a mother to do? She has heard nothing but terrible things about “GMOs” and has no choice but to put that product back on the shelves.

In that moment, that young mother is forced to make a snap judgment on a simple label without knowing the whole story. In that moment, producers of GMO and Non GMO products are pitted against each other on an uneven playing field. This situation could soon become a reality if Congress is unable to pass legislation establishing a national GMO labeling standard.

Currently, large food corporations like General Mills and Mars Candy Company are preparing to label all of their products in concordance with Vermont’s GMO labeling law. This law unfairly places producers of GMO and Non-GMO products against one another. The truth is, a simple “GMO” label does not tell the consumer much of anything about that particular product.

In the eyes of the USDA, all GMO products on the market have been tested and proven safe for human consumption. That “GMO” sticker does not tell you what ingredient was genetically modified, how it was modified, or why it was modified. Rather, the consumer is left only with the public stigma that all GMOs are created equal and all GMOs are bad.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Many genetically modified products have been created for the sole purpose of guaranteeing that we have access to a sustainable and healthy food source. In fact, producers are using less pesticides and herbicides than they have in decades, all because of the advancements in genetic modifications. GMO’s are keeping societies alive, not killing them.

Don’t believe me? Take golden rice as an example. Currently, many children in underdeveloped countries are not only going blind, but roughly 670,000 children under the age of 5 are dying due vitamin A deficiencies. Most of these individuals are living off a steady diet of white rice, which lacks a sufficient quantity of vitamin A. However, scientists have found a way to genetically modify rice with traits from corn, significantly increasing vitamin A levels in rice. The process gives the rice a goldish hue, hence the name, golden rice. This GMO product has potential to save lives, yet the anti-GMO movement threatens its advancement and use.

Among other advancements in GMOs, one could talk about apples that don’t brown when sliced, potatoes that don’t bruise, disease resistant oranges, and many more. A simple label does not tell you these stories. Farmers Union has long stood for the consumer’s right to know about the food they feed their families. However, discriminatory labeling laws are disingenuous and only present half-truths, leaving the consumer misinformed.

We must continue to urge Congress to act swiftly in establishing a fair labeling standard for GMO and Non-GMO products.

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Last Modified: 03/24/2016 9:07:31 pm MDT