States, Federal Government Considering GMO Labeling Regulations

USA Today (6/13, D’ambrosio, 1.71M) reports an increasing number of US states are “taking on the issue of genetically engineered foods, fanning the flames of a decades-old debate about whether the products are dangerous to human health.” 

Vermont recently became the “first state in the nation to pass a bill requiring labeling of foods produced using these genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, followed weeks later by Connecticut.” 

Washington state will also consider a referendum on GMO labeling in November. Furthermore, US Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced a bill in April that directs the FDA to “clearly label” genetically engineered foods. 

Boxer also included amendments in Congress’ farm bill that asks the US to join the other 64 nations that have GMO labeling requirements, as well as ordering a report in six months from agency heads that reviews “the labeling methods used internationally, and the ‘probable impacts’ of having differing labeling requirements passed by states rather than a federal standard.”

Kraft Solves Case Of GMO Food Label Warning

The New York Times (6/6, B6, Strom, Subscription Publication, 1.68M) reports, “The case of the labels warning of genetically modified wheat found on Kraft Mac & Cheese boxes in Britain has been solved.

The labels, posted on the product’s own Facebook page and picked up by a food blogger, set off a buzz among consumers overseas and in the United States around the same time last week that modified wheat was found in a field in Oregon.” 

But, according to Kraft spokesperson Lynne Galia, the company “does not use genetically engineered wheat, which is not commercially available. ... ‘We have no authorized distributor’” in Britain, Galia added.

Columnist Takes Issue With Genetically Modified Food Bill

In the syndicated “Alternative Health with Dr. Lind” column in the Washington Times (3/28, 76K), Dr. Peter Lind, who practices metabolic and neurologic chiropractic at his wellness clinic in Salem, OR, wrote, “President Barack Obama signed a spending bill, HR 933, into law, the ‘Monsanto Protection Act,’ that strips federal courts of the authority to immediately halt the planting and sale of genetically modified (GMO) seed crop regardless of any consumer health concerns.”

In voicing his opposition to the bill, Lind quoted several studies and group statements pointing to potential safety issues with genetically modified foods, including one from the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, which concluded, “There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation, ‘as defined by recognized scientific criteria.”

Lind urged readers to educate themselves about genetically modified foods and seeds and to get in touch with elected officials on all levels of government to voice their concerns.

GMO Food Labels Would Increase Transparency For Consumers

The Minneapolis Star Tribune (3/31, 335K) editorialized Minnesota officials should craft legislation that informs consumers about genetically engineered foods. The editorial board writes, “As Americans awaken in greater numbers to the link between nutrition and health, they’re demanding transparency on food labels in order to make the best choices for their diets, whether because of allergies, diabetes, vegetarianism, religion or other reasons.”

The board believes that American consumers “have a right to know what’s in the food they’re buying, and that’s currently not the case with genetically engineered ingredients, which are in the majority of processed foods in US supermarkets.” The board also warns that “the nation’s most powerful biotech, agribusiness, chemical and packaged-food companies are spending millions to prevent change,” and what at stake is not about “food safety, but basic consumer information.”

The Roll Call (4/2, Rojas, Subscription Publication) “Heard on the Hill” blog reports that on April 8, “food activists opposed to genetically modified crops will take their fight to the US Food and Drug Administration...sponsoring an old school eat-in at the agency’s College Park, Md., campus staged around a truly historic meal.”

An all-day “anti-GMO protest is scheduled for April 8 outside the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and will feature a full day of activities. It will include the preparation and consumption of a massive cauldron...of all-inclusive ‘stone soup.’” According to the blog, “Occupy Monsanto organizer Adam Eidinger told HOH that the event is geared toward one simple goal: a clear understanding of what we are all eating.”