News
Senate hears GMO labeling concerns
Conflicting viewpoints on GMO labeling were aired Wednesday at a U.S. Senate Ag Committee hearing. Many of the witnesses questioned if GMO labeling is necessary and whether it should be voluntary or mandatory. Concerns were also expressed about the possible impact on consumers’ pocketbooks, farmers and international trade.
Joanna Lidback, a small Vermont dairy farmer, represented the Agri-Mark Dairy Cooperative and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives during the hearing. She’s disappointed her home state passed a mandatory labeling law which is set to begin next year. “The main argument for passing this bill was this idea that consumers have a right to know what is in their food.” She says, “In my opinion, the new label wouldn’t better inform consumers but instead it would serve as a warning sign.”
However, Gary Hirshberg, representing Just Label It, a coalition dedicated to a mandatory disclosure system for products containing genetically modified organisms, says a national labeling system is needed. “Recent polling and consumer data tell us that nine out of ten Americans – regardless of age, income, race or party affiliation – want the right to know whether the food they eat and purchase for their families contains GMOs.”
While labeling requirements were in question, GMO safety was not. Deputy Director of Pesticide Programs with the Environmental Protection Agency William Jordan testified during the hearing he’s confident in the safety of genetically engineered products.
“We’ve looked at these products six ways to Wednesday and we are convinced, and so too are outside experts, that these things are safe.”
Dr. Susan Mayne, Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition with the Food and Drug Administration testified based on FDA evaluations, GE foods in the marketplace today are as safe as conventional products. She says foods developed from genetically engineered plant varieties undergo the same food safety requirements as non-GE foods.
You can find experts to argue both sides…the reality is…. there is little benefit in creating GMO foods (except of course, for Monsatan and corps like them?!). All of this manipulation of nature and poisoning of our soil, water, air and food supply is NOT sustainable, and any intelligent person knows it is not healthy. Just as cigarette companies argued for years that they were safe, so too are the GMO producers. We DO see many health issues on the inc rease, right around the time GMO’s were introduced into our food chain. We no longer want to \be an experiment while these big corps become gazillionaires. and we wait for longitudinal studies to be conducted! If they are sooooo safe, label them! Be proud of what you’ve done! Let me choose if I want to ingest it!