New Laws Affecting GMO Labeling
The United States Department of Agriculture has suggested new procedures for the labeling of foods that contain ingredients that have been genetically engineered. Food manufacturers will soon be compelled by federal law to adopt these labels, beginning in the year 2020.
The risks of genetically altered ingredients, popularly referred to as GMOs, continues to be a source of concern for many Americans, and rightfully so. Several food manufacturers have now begun to freely place “No GMO’’ labels on their products, even when they aren’t warranted (i.e.; on a food that has never been genetically modified) and are simply being used as buzzwords.
Understanding how a crop’s genes can be altered in the plants we consume, and whether or not grocery store goers should be concerned, is still a topic of much debate. At least the forced labels will help the consumers to make a more informed choice as to whether or not they include genetically modified foods in their diet. So what do we need to know about these suggested labels?
Why Are We Just Now Getting Labels?
Big food companies have fought arduous battles and costly skirmishes against GMO labels time and again, constantly concerned that they would prevent patrons from purchasing their brand of product, while at the same time giving the edge to organic food producers. Organic food producers who had toiled and lobbied in an effort to advance labeling laws in several states. According to procedures that are laid down by the United States Department of Agriculture, any foods that are labeled organic can not contain any genetically altered ingredients.
More recently, lawmakers and consumer groups have increased their attempts to get these labeling laws passed, mainly via ballot initiatives or bills appearing in Connecticut, California, Washington, Oregon, and Maine. In 2014, once Vermont became the first state in the US to pass labeling legislation, food companies faced the logistical labyrinth and excessive costs of re-working the packaging on all of their products for a single market knowing that others were very likely coming right behind it.
A few food companies stated that they would be voluntarily putting new labels on their genetically modified products across the country. Yet others opted to fight for stricter laws that would require a uniform standard across all 50 states, with adornments such as a QR code or a bar code that shoppers could easily scan with their smartphones and, amidst all this clamor and chaos, a new term was born. Bioengineered became the preferred terminology among non-organic food manufacturers. It sounded less threatening, less familiar, and was well removed from the stigma of genetically modified. These war-torn efforts finally saw success when they were adapted into a federal labeling proposal that was finally signed into law in 2016 by President Obama. The Department of Agriculture had to then decide exactly what these new labels were going to look like.
What Will the Labels Say?
The new guidelines that have been suggested for the new labels recommend the use of this new term, bioengineered (or BE), as opposed to the ordinarily used but heavily stigmatized term genetically modified.” Food companies would be given the option of three different methods of disclosure to their customers. These methods would include fully printing the information, such as“This product includes a bioengineered ingredient,” developing and using an official symbol (mostly sunshine and smiley faces were suggested), or including a user-unfriendly QR code on the label that consumers could scan with their smartphones and then be able to view a website with the full details of the source of the modified ingredient.
Will These New Labels Encompass All GMOs?
The short answer to that is no, no they will not. Brand new gene-editing technologies allow researchers to make tiny changes to the DNA of animals and plants with incredible rapidity and accuracy, usually by erasing a fragment of genetic code, or by injecting a beneficial characteristic from one breed of something into another of a similar something. Crops that are produced using these new alterations, which might (in theory) be produced through traditional breeding methods, or alterations that take place via an organic mutation, are exempted from the recommended product labels. Large portions of our food supply would also not fall under the new mandate, such as sodas that are made from genetically modified corn.
These product labels could also omit highly refined oils and refined sugars, such as the ones that are made from genetically altered corn and sugar beets, which generally do not contain any genetic material once they are through being processed. A majority of consumer groups stand in opposition to this sketchy and evasive maneuver, which would ultimately substantially reduce the number of food products that are required to bear the new label, saying that it is not just a matter or what food is on our plates, but the manner in which that food is grown as well. In addition to this side-stepping, any food whose main ingredient is a non-genetically modified meat, chicken and dumpling stew, for instance, are not required to sport a label, even if the food does contain other ingredients which are genetically altered.
While the Monsanto corporation and all it’s biotech bed buddies have clearly become accustomed to using their not inconsiderable amount of clout, influence, and resources to intimidate or buy scientists and openly coerce farmers, there is one factor that will always remain beyond their grasp and that is the strength of the informed consumer. If you or someone that you love is suffering from health problems that you believe to be related to Monsanto’s Round-Up Weedkiller then you need to get in touch with one of our experienced Roundup attorneys here at the Brady Law Group. If you would like to receive a free consultation with a professional, please give us a call at (866) 211-2562 as soon as possible so that we can help you assess any claims that you feel you may have.
