This is a resource blog for GMO Free News, a Google Hangout hosted by women for women who want to know what is in their food.
Now an estimated 80 percent of processed food in the U.S. contains ingredients from crops altered in the lab to make them hardier, more resistant to disease and pests, and more tolerant of herbicides.
There are many reasons to choose foods without genetically modified organisms (GMOs) — from the risks they pose to the environment to concern about their effects on consumer health. Despite industry claims, there is not a single commercial GMO crop with increased yield, drought-tolerance or enhanced nutrition.
Unlike many countries around the world, the U.S. does not require labeling of foods containing GMOs. That's troubling when you consider an estimated 60 to 70 percent of packaged food in mainstream grocery stores contain them. Assume a packaged food has GMOs unless it's clearly labeled otherwise.
Choose organic
This is the best way to assure your food is GMO-free. Genetic engineering (GE) is a prohibited method of production in organics, so foods labeled "certified organic" or "made with organic ingredients" cannot contain GE ingredients intentionally.
Leaders in North America’s organic movement say it’s time to tell consumers that organic food does contain genetically modified organisms.
Speaking at the Guelph Organic Conference in early February, Dag Falck, organic program manager with Nature’s Path, one of the largest manufacturers of organic breakfast cereals and snack bars in North America, said the organic movement has to have an honest conversation with the public about GMOs.
Despite public perceptions that organic products are GM free, Falck said organic food made from corn, soybeans, canola and sugar definitely contain GMOs.
“If you are going to stop eating all those things, you will be able to be GMO free,” Falck told the organic conference at the University of Guelph.
Hi! Welcome to A-Z! Have you heard of the Euro-leaf?
Take the 12 stars of the European flag on one side, a mint leaf on the other.
Just put one on top of the other!
This label must be on all European organic products. But what is organic? Organic food comes from organic farming. It's produced while protecting the environment. To have the European organic label, farmers must use the most natural methods possible, respecting the cycles of the earth, plants and animals.
1. Vary the crops every year so as not to impoverish the soil. Choose species suitable for the region and alternate them.
2. Avoid chemicals as much as possible when enriching the soil or plants, when protecting crops against disease and insects, or when treating animals.
3. No growing of genetically modified organisms, the famous GMOs.
4. As much as possible, use the farm's own resources: the animals' manure to feed the soil, and crops to feed the animals. And
5. Respect the animals' welfare. In practice, an organic chicken looks like this. On this organic farm there are 4,800 chickens.
It seems like a lot but it's not compared to industrial farms with 50,000 chickens. Organic chickens have more space than ordinary ones. One square metre inside the shed for 10 birds. Four square metres each outdoors to stretch their legs. And you can't give them just anything to eat. On the menu it's all organic. Over to the farmer...
For the 4,800 chickens we have inside here, we have two hectares of outdoor area. In addition, the feed obviously has to be organic. We have here wheat, maize, peas, horse beans, a little soya...
That's all good, but apparently since 2009 livestock can be fed on non-European products. So how can we be sure that organic animals only eat organic?
Over to the controller... We can take as many samples as we want. We send it to the laboratory and they can see if there are any pesticides, fungicides or other products which are not allowed in biological agriculture. So organic is natural.
It's guaranteed by the European organic label. But not really 100% as it's practically impossible to check the whole organic chain in the whole European Union, from the farm to your plate. So the Euro-leaf accepts foods with 5% of non-organic ingredients.
If you like organics, look out for the Euro-leaf. But read the labels carefully. Bye!
Saturday afternoon at the Northeastern Organic Farm Association of New York’s winter conference Dave Rogers and Dr. Michael Hansen kicked off their session on the importance of labeling genetically modified organisms by asking the audience members to play the devil’s advocate and argue in favor of genetically engineered (GE) crops.
The two men came prepared. They presented research showing that GMOs do not yield more than a natural crop, there is no successful climate or drought-ready crops and that, over time, GMOs actually need more pesticides than non-GE crops.
“What people should know is that there are these questions and uncertainties pertaining to risks. These genetically engineered substances are in 75 percent of the processed foods in the supermarket and in some of the fresh produce as well,” Rogers said, “It’s a system that is built on legal protection and control of the market place and it shuts down other lines of inquiry and research that could be very beneficial.”
Hansen has been working on getting the GE food bill, requiring manufacturers to label GMOs through legislation for the last 27 years.
January 2010. The National Organic Action Plan (NOAP) articulates a vision for the future of organic food and agriculture in the United States. It engages collaborators from across the organic community. NOAP sets out a broad set of goals to guide organic agriculture in the United States over the next ten years.
