It’s been well over a year since Consumer Reports found that 92 percent of Americans support GMO labeling, a practice required in over 60 other countries. In its survey, 70 percent of respondents stated they do not want genetically modified organisms in their food.
On July 1, Vermont is set to become the first state to require on-package labeling, but the debate isn’t over. According to the Star Tribune, the food industry is mounting a last-ditch effort to block state GMO labeling laws.
On one side of the fence, titans like General Mills are calling for a uniform standard. The company issued the following statement: “A national solution is needed to prevent a patchwork of 50 different state laws. If Congress doesn’t step in now, that’s exactly where we’re headed, and that doesn’t serve anyone well.”
The “patchwork” argument is valid. Our food supply chain is complex. One might argue that having 50 different sets of regulations is a compliance nightmare, particularly for manufacturers. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 94 percent of soybeans grown and 92 percent of corn grown come from GMO seeds. These crops are in tens of thousands of products, so significant costs will be incurred to change packaging.
As mentioned in the Star Tribune article, advertisements paid for by big interest groups imply that the associated costs will be passed along to consumers. These interest claimed that family farms will suffer and food prices for the average family will increase by $500. Scott Faber of Just Label It calls this “unbelievable misrepresentation.”
Consumer groups maintain that the coalition doesn’t just want to streamline compliance by having a uniform standard, they want to eliminate on-package GMO labels altogether. They’ve devised alternatives like the volunteer SmartLabel initiative, which provides a QR code for consumers to scan and retrieve information online. It is presumed this approach will greatly limit their exposure, as many consumers will not have the capability or desire to obtain the information.
In a surprising break from Big Food, Campbell’s Soup weighed in as a voice of reason. The company is in favor of a national standard for on-package labeling. It issued a statement outlining its “customer first” mindset, reiterating that consumers have the right to know what’s in their food. In it, the company addresses specific issues with the “patchwork” approach, mentioning that Vermont’s law does not require products with meat or poultry to be labeled. (So Campbell’s SpaghettiO’s with meatballs would not have to be labeled.)
Our take is always that it’s better to avoid eating food with labels altogether, but that’s beside the point here. Campbell Soup has raised the bar for the industry by accepting that consumers want to be empowered with information to make informed purchasing decisions.
If you’re interested in learning more about this important issue, here are a few good reads:
- CBS News “Digging for seeds of truth in the GMO debate”
- EcoWatch: 8 Battleground States in the GMO Food Labeling Fight
- World Health Organization: Frequently asked questions on genetically modified foods
- Food Integrity Now: Dr. Robert Kremer: GMOs, Glyphosate and Soil Biology