We spend a lot of time acquainting ourselves with food ingredients-both the good and the bad. Reading labels is what we do here at Naturally Savvy, and we've written three books on the subject ("Unjunk Your Junk Food", "Label Lessons: Your Guide to a Healthy Shopping Cart", and our newest book: "Label Lessons: Unjunk Your Kid’s Lunch Box").
But what happens when ingredients aren't labeled, as is the case with GMOs?
It's been a really frustrating issue for many of us. Because the FDA doesn't regulate GMO labeling (like 64 countries around the world do), consumers simply have no way of knowing whether or not they're eating genetically modified ingredients. That hardly seems fair.
While I'd heard about GMOs for quite a while, it wasn't until Pamm Larry helped get Proposition 37 on California's ballot last November that I really took notice about what's going on with GMOs. The bill failed in a shockingly narrow defeat due mainly to the tricky marketing efforts of the food and biotech industry.
However, what has happened as a result of that vote has been inspiring.
If you're not aware of the issues with GMOs, there are some important facts to note: most of the corn, soy, cotton, canola and sugar beets grown in the U.S. are genetically modified. And by "most" I mean more than 80-90 percent of all crops! These GMO ingredients, in turn, are used to make processed foods. Corn and soy, in particular, are processed into dozens of other ingredients that you might not even recognize as corn or soy (like lecithin, citric acid, and maltodextrin).
As companies are catching on to consumers' demands for GMO-free products, we are seeing a new wave of trickery we've dubbed: "Genewashing."
My ten-year-old son and I recently encountered an instance of genewashing (detailed here), when we found a bag of chips that boasted it was made without GMO grains, yet it actually contained other GMO ingredients derived from corn, soy and canola. This practice is becoming more common. It's no wonder consumers are confused.
There are victories, though: Both Maine and Connecticut have recently passed conditional GMO labeling laws. There are more and more campaigns and organizations taking a stand against GMOs, like the recent campaign by GMO Inside targeting the popular Greek yogurt brand, Chobani, for using milk from cows fed GMOs.
Whole Foods has announced it will label all GMOs sold in its stores by 2018, and the retailer was one of several top supermarkets to announce it would not sell the GMO salmon developed by Aqua Bounty.
The battle is clearly heating up around GMOs and you can expect to hear a lot more from us on this issue in the coming months. In the meantime, I'd like to acknowledge some important experts to keep an eye on when it comes to GMO information. They are Naturally Savvy's go-to leaders on GMO issues. They are:
1. Jeffrey Smith: author, filmmaker and founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology.
2. Dr. Joseph Mercola: leading health expert and voice for GMO labeling.
3. Robyn O'Brien: author, activist, mother.
4. Rachel Parent: 14-year-old activist, founder of Kids Right To Know.
5. Pamm Larry: activist, grandmother, got Prop 37 on California's November 2012 ballot.
6. Non-GMO Project: leading 3rd party certifier for non-GMO products.
7. Mike Adams: founder of Natural News and leading voice for reasons to avoid GMOs.
8. Tom Philpott: contributing writer for Mother Jones and farmer focused on non-GMO and organic agriculture.
9. Michael Pollan: author, journalist, professor and food expert.
10. Vani Hari (aka The Food Babe): blogger and activist, The Food Babe has received national attention for her work on food issues.
11. Naomi Starkman: founder and the Editor-in-Chief of Civil Eats and a policy consultant to Consumers Union as well.
12. Gary Hirshberg: founder of the popular organic yogurt brand, Stonyfield Yogurt, Hirshberg has since moved his focus to GMOs with the organization, Just Label It.
13. GMO inside: a newcomer to the advocacy arena, GMO Inside is making huge waves with campaigns like the recent Chobani yogurt project.
14. The Cornucopia Institute: the leading advocacy group working to support organic integrity and to protect organic farmers, they broke the stories on GMOs in cereals and in infant formula.
Do you know of other experts we should have on our radar? Let us know in the comments below.
Image: CIMMYT
