Bittman: Why Aren't G.M.O. Foods Labeled?

Mark Bittman in the New York Times:

If you want to avoid sugar, aspartame, trans-fats, MSG, or just about anything else, you read the label. If you want to avoid G.M.O.'s -- genetically modified organisms -- you're out of luck. They're not listed. You could, until now, simply buy organic foods, which by law can't contain more than 5 percent G.M.O.'s. Now, however, even that may not work.

Read the whole story

Comments

[Last Gasp]

01:36 PM on 02/21/2011

join Organic Consumer's Association's truth in labeling campaign "Millions Against Monsanto"

http://organicconsumers.org/monsanto/index.cfm

Why post trade association actions but not consumer association's?

[NoSillyName]

11:16 PM on 02/20/2011

I want that stuff to be labeled. What can we do?

[April22]

11:05 PM on 02/20/2011

Americans have been human guinea pigs for chemical companies for almost 20 years.

Monsanto began genetically altering tomatoes in the early 1990's!

Our government does nothing to protect Americans from something that was never even tested on anything close to a human being.

[mothergrace]

02:48 PM on 02/20/2011

Here's a link to some of the preliminary work being done on the possible health effects of genetically engineered products.

http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/GeneticRoulette/HealthRisksofGMFoodsSummaryDebate/index.cfm

There are several factors overlooked by the pre-gm people and that is that there have been no real epidemiological studies done on these products(and remember, each product must be tested as the safety of one doesn't say anything about the safety of another). While the ability to genetically alter organisms has been around for awhile the individual products have not necessarily been around as long to demonstrate a clear cut connection.

Health studies can be great puzzles. To pinpoint a health problem and the cause can take a long time. Look at how long they have been trying to find the reason for the drastic uptick in autism. Or, how about the recent studies just now linking diet soda to heart disease. Or when the link was established between poor dental health and heart disease.

There are a lot of blind alleys you can go down before you find the cause of illness. I am reminded of my friend's son, sick since he was a baby, many doctors and years to a diagnosis and now, when he is almost twenty, a new doctor thinks his diagnosis is incorrect.

In addition to all of that, we have no idea what these products will do to our environment, although we are seeing some effects already in super weeds.

[mothergrace]

05:23 PM on 02/20/2011

"overlooked by the pro-gm people"

[halfpricefaustian]

01:22 PM on 02/20/2011

There is an additional danger not discussed here. Broad-spectrum herbicides like Roundup kill just about any plant they encounter. That makes it unlikely to get the chemical into the food supply since it kills a plant before it can be harvested. By engineering Roundup-ready plants they are now creating vectors for getting these dangerous chemicals into our food supply since the modified plants can now survive to maturity and harvest after exposure.
I agree with Bittman that this is not free market behavior. Label the products and let the consumers decide, do not allow the corporations to use government power to prevent competition between GE and non-GE products.

[pontesisto]

06:40 AM on 02/20/2011

We have to take a stand with our votes if we want to get these foods labeled. Please consider joining the Label GM Foods page on votingbloc.org here:

http://www.votingbloc.org/Food_Bloc.php

[cabinetmaniac]

09:08 AM on 02/20/2011

Thanks for the link.

☮

[SvrWx]

12:43 PM on 02/19/2011

Why? Money talks and our representatives are bought and paid for.

[Last Gasp]

12:45 AM on 02/18/2011

Why no mention of the intellectual proprietary ownership of organisms that spread in nature, and on which we need to survive? The true evil is in the patenting.

And yes there are DEFINITELY negative health consequences to eating genetically modified organisms namely allergies and autoimmune diseases. chjeck out the work of the esteemed Arpad Pusztai.

[HazelPethigFan]

09:42 AM on 02/19/2011

Puszatai studies were debunked long ago.

[HazelPethigFan]

09:46 AM on 02/19/2011

If there is data, where is it? There must be a large amount of data on such an important health issue regarding food most people eat, right? And you can only come up with one researcher? Why?

[jeanruss]

11:35 AM on 02/17/2011

I have been eating organic for over a decade now and have enjoyed tremendous health benefits. I guess that is the problem. No sick people equals no profit in America. Corporations only know how to profit by causibg illness and destruction. WE don't need GMO foods, THEY do, to financially survive. I had a small raised garden last summer and my tomatoes were superb. I will make it larger this year. Food at restaurants is so bland compared to what I get from my co-op and garden.

[cabinetmaniac]

08:53 AM on 02/20/2011

I love going into my garden and picking dinner.

☮

[rikster]

05:22 PM on 02/16/2011

they are not labeled because Monsanto runs the FDA.....and have "influenced" many in the Beltway gang...

[Get Skinny Go Vegan]

03:20 PM on 02/16/2011

This stinks and Whole Foods is partly to blame............
I guess the only answer is to grow your own and bankrupt the food industry.
?
Or become breatharians.
www.getskinnygovegan.blogspot.com

[rikster]

05:23 PM on 02/16/2011

or you can eat so much chlorophyll that the sun will sustain you....

[HazelPethigFan]

10:53 PM on 02/16/2011

Oh look..the anti-technology/anti-GM food zealots are even going after Whole Foods now. No one is pure enough for them.

[ladyvader]

03:03 PM on 02/16/2011

If anyone here hasn't seen this movie, "Food Inc." I suggest you watch it. Very informative.

[HazelPethigFan]

10:50 PM on 02/16/2011

oh look...it's another nonfarmer who became an "expert" on agriculture by watching a movie made by urbanites.

[mothergrace]

11:07 PM on 02/16/2011

You keep saying that as if it means something when in reality it doesn't mean anything.

You're a farmer. So what? You aren't a scientist or a doctor or a medical researcher or an environmentalist. All you can contribute is the effect on your costs, land use, yield, expense of seed, etc.

And the fact that you are a farmer who chooses to plant GMO doesn't give you the right to deny organic farmers their livelihood or our choices at the market.

[mothergrace]

02:43 PM on 02/16/2011

They aren't labeled because somehow it has become the job of government to insure big profits for corporations instead of oversight for consumers.

[Grasse7]

02:19 PM on 02/16/2011

To my mind, it boils down to one thing: do we as consumers have a right to know about the products we buy? IMO saying we don't is--well, un-American.

[BarelyLucid]

01:34 PM on 02/16/2011

I was under the belief that when produce has a five digit UPC code you can tell the difference between organic and GMO. If it starts with an 8 before the 4 digit code for the particular item it is GMO, if it starts with a 9 then it is organic. This is just for produce, so grains and other products are unknown.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/plu-codes-dont-indicate-gmo-produce/

[Get Skinny Go Vegan]

03:21 PM on 02/16/2011

I wonder if that is before this new law though?