Shopping and GMO Labeling

Clear Non-GMO labels

As you are doing your holiday grocery shopping, you may or may not notice labels identifying whether or not an item contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It is encouraging that in spite of the adoption of the so called "Dark Act" this past July (Public Law 114-216) more and more products are being voluntarily labeled as Non GMO or as containing genetically engineered ingredients.

The federal law preempts any state law relating to the labeling of genetically engineered food. This included Vermont's law which had just gone into effect on July 1st. Under the federal law the Secretary of Agriculture has two years to adopt "a national mandatory bioengineered food disclosure standard." One controversial aspect of the law is that the disclosure does not have to be a text label, but can  be a symbol or an electronic link. This is why the Act is known by opponents as the Dark Act. As a consumer who wants to be able to read a label and know what is in the package before buying, a link that I would have to look up later, since I do not own a Smart phone, would be useless in making a purchasing decision.

The increasing desire of consumers to know more about where their food is coming from and the reports that have been published over the safety of GMOs and their production has resulted in many food producers labeling their products even before the adoption of any state or federal requirement. And with the passage of these laws,  more and more companies are being proactive and labeling their products now.

Non-GMO Project Label

I am not going to discuss the pros and cons of genetically engineered crops in this blog, but if you want to avoid GMOs entirely, one simple was is to buy USDA Organic labeled foods since the USDA organic standards do not allow the use of genetic engineering in organic products. However, if you are just interested in knowing that the product you are buying is not made with genetic engineering the not for profit Non-GMO Project organization offers a third party verification program and once a product is certified, it can display their label which sports an orange butterfly.  Of course the Non-GMO label is voluntary, but many food producers want to take advantage of a label in the hopes that consumers, if given a choice, will choose the Non-GMO option. Just be aware that as with the over-use of  "Gluten-Free" labels, some companies may apply the Non-GMO label to products for which there isn't even a genetically modified option, making their labeled product no different than the same product without a Non-GMO label. For example the bag above of Hodgson Mill Corn Meal labeled as Non-GMO means something since corn is one of the most largely genetically engineered crop in the United States. However, a bag of wheat flour labeled as such would be meaningless since there is currently no genetically modified wheat grown in the world.

One thing that is certain, genetically engineered food is not going away and GMO labeling is one way of providing information to the consumer on the source of their food, which is always a good thing.