Genetic
Engineering: Just Label It! Campaign
Beyond Pesticides has joined the Just Label It campaign, which is made up of a broad-based coalition of 460 partner organizations demanding that consumers have the right to know what is in our food. The campaign has already generated over a half-million consumer comments in support of a petition which calls for food that is produced with genetically engineered (GE) ingredients to disclose this information on the label. The petition was filed with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and written by attorneys at the Center for Food Safety.
Sign the petition and submit your comments at www.justlabelit.org/takeaction.
Why Label It?
Beyond Pesticides’ goal is to push for labeling as a means of identifying products containing GE ingredients in an effort to sway consumer demand. The European Union, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Russia, and China, require labeling for GE foods. Recently, the German corporation BASF announced that it would stop developing genetically engineered products targeting the European market, in part due to low consumer demand. Given that a that 93% of Americans support mandatory labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods, Beyond Pesticides believes that we can have the same impact here as in Europe.
The best way to avoid genetically engineered foods in the marketplace is by purchasing foods that have the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Organic Seal. Under organic certification standards, genetically modified organisms and their byproducts are prohibited. For many other reasons, organic products are the right choice for consumers.
Unfortunately, the current lax regulations on genetically engineered crops in the U.S. presents a unique risk to organic growers. Wind-pollinated and bee-pollinated crops, such as corn and alfalfa, have high risks of cross pollination between GE crops and unmodified varieties. No provision exists to effectively protect organic farms from contamination, although EPA has required “refuges” or non-GE planted barriers around sites planted with GE crops.
Sign the Petition
About the Campaign
The JUST LABEL IT: We Have the Right to Know campaign is dedicated to the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods, also referred to as genetically modified, or GMOs. The JUST LABEL IT message is simple: consumers have a right to know what is in our food so we can make informed choices about what we eat and feed our families. At the Just Label It website, (www.justlabelit.org/takeaction), people can submit a comment to FDA in support of the petition.
For more information, and to see all of the Just Label It partners, see www.justlabelit.org.