We are sure there will be many more such attacks coming.
Earlier this summer, Congress defied the will of voters in passing a phony GMO labeling bill. This “mandatory” labeling bill is anything but mandatory: it allows companies to choose how to inform consumers about the genetically engineered content of their food—most will do so through scannable codes on the package that few people will understand or be able to use, which is of course exactly what the industry designed bill intended.
The bill also exempted meat, poultry, and eggs from GMO labeling requirements. Following passage of the bill, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) jumped right in to use its new regulatory power not on GMO labeling, but on GMO-free labeling.
The USDA’s new guidance describes the conditions under which producers can use negative GMO claims on their products—that is, labeling that indicates the absence of GMO ingredients or statements that tell consumers that the meat comes from animals fed a non-GMO diet.
In a nutshell, a strict reading of this guidance says that meat we buy at the grocery store cannot make statements about being GMO-free unless the livestock has been fed a non-GMO diet. But USDA knows that defining a strict non-GMO diet is difficult. It may be impossible.
This is no doubt a deliberate gift to the CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) industry, which benefits from the fewest possible competitors being able to claim the non-GMO label. It will punish small farmers who run good, sustainable, humane operations but cannot certify that every bit of their feed is non-GMO.
The FSIS says if you are organically certified, that will be enough to avoid liability under the law, but the agency knows full well that only big or rich farms can afford the enormous expenses required to acquire and keep organic certification under government rules. The recordkeeping requirements alone are staggering, which we think was another deliberate government move to reserve the certified organic market for big producers.
Yes, this is a complicated issue. We at ANH-USA prefer strict standards. But this latest regulation strikes us as a clear case of the government and special interests adopting a nearly impossible standard in order to prevent labeling of non-GMO foods. And we don’t think this will be the last such move. Big Food will not rest until non-GMO labels have been completely eliminated.
Other articles in this week’s Pulse of Natural Health:
Hillary’s Medicine “Bizarre”?
Food as Medicine
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We the people must let Big Food know that unless they label their products GMO Free in plain English we will assume that their products contain genetically modified entities.
AND we will boycott them! ” Or we the consumers can just start putting skull & cross bones stickers on processed crap. ” (Good one, Jerry C!)
I’ve been boycotting them for years now, and actively encourage others, particularly those with children, to do the same.
Too many stubborn and ignorant people who pay no attention to the foods the family eats. They shop by price and even when the kids suffer from serious ailments they do not think to look at what they feed them and bring home from the store. That is a “Crying Shame”.
Ha, Ha, Jon…. I’ve thought about doing the very same thing. I already have put in serious calls to big stores like WalMart, and told them GMO’s are being boycotted. The freedom to choose whether or not we want to eat food all FULL of pesticidess inside is our right and we’re NOT going to take the agenda being shoved down our throats, UNCONSTITUTIONALLY!
USDA generally protects market share and organic standards were built to protect existing producers. GMO labeling is similar.
Cost killed GMO labelling in Colorado. A truck, mill or silo that had held GMO product was almost impossible to certify as non-GMO. Doubling every truck, mill, silo etc. would protect existing organic producers from early non-GMO competition.
Almost all Corn and Soy are GMO and provide ingredients for virtually every processed food and animal feed. Producers cannot hold production for one non-GMO ingredient. That means not every run would qualify as non-GMO and explains scan codes. I propose labeling everything as GMO. Organic customers would avoid GMO labels but already avoid non-organics. Most would ignore the label and avoid non-GMOs for price just as they do organics.
For having fabricated the GMO scare, organic producers would have to share their niche with the new non-GMO labels.
“For having fabricated the GMO scare”??? “For having favricated the GMO scare”??? Who are you blaming for that, the Organic Producers?
Where have you been living, under a rock?
Cost did not kill GMO labelling in Colorado either…. stop spreading lies, not one person is going to believe you here, we KNOW!
I live in Colorado! I heard the arguments. I know some of the farmers who would not have had the money to comply. I shop at Vitamin Cottage which displayed pro-labeling ads, helped collect contributions and made it clear that they were supporting the organic industry.
They believed that they would gain business by forcing the big competition to label their products as GMO after they had broadcast unsupported claims. I considered that unfair and voted against it.
You prove your case with science. Name calling is Mr. Trump’s method. GMO claims have been discredited. Organizations such as AAAS which condemned climate doubters, which condemned fundamentalists who wanted creationism in schools and which condemned the Republican war on science have also condemned GMO claims.
The previous response resembles what I receive from the Tea Party and from Evangelicals. Perhaps it is religiously motivated.
Oh good lord… you are too ignorant to educate. Your reading comprehension would be too dim to comprehend the truth as you are all ready brain washed with falsified industry science.
We are not talking about “industry” science. We are talking about what is accepted outside of the “organic” and “touchy-feely” crowd. The AAAS is the largest group of scientists in the U.S. Conversely, the few anti-GMO articles that had ever been peer reviewed were later falsified and retracted by both their authors and the publishing journals.
One can scare the public with big official-sounding words but those of us who actually read the research are not fooled. Furthermore, it is the job of legislators, judges and the FDA to follow facts, not fears.
Please don’t resort to insults when you lack an argument. It further harms the credibility of your side.
You both are right and both wrong – Impossible? Not at all! It depends on how the item is genetically modified as to how harmful it may be. If it is modified with pesticide capabilities it IS dangerous and has been proven so. If it is modified in other ways, it will take decades to figure out if there is a potential environmental harm. Bottom line, why do it? We know GMOs do not increase production with enough regularity to make them cost effective. Think 7 generations ahead. That rule just may save the planet! Our land gives us all the food we need. Chemical companies linked arm and arm with biotech industries WANT THEIR MONEY. We don’t NEED GMO or GE food. Do we??? Has science shown we NEED them? No, industry wants them because they want $$. That is the bottom line. That is why I boycott them. That is why I demand clean with food and will continue to demand clean food. If I buy from a small farmer, I know what I’m getting. It is not difficult to buy local, organically grown food which may not be “certified”, but is cleaner than what might be certified in a chain store.
Thanks for moving the discussion to the result rather than the method. Some object to genetic modification as if horizontal gene migration was a crime against nature. It already occurs naturally with the average human carrying at least 30 and some say 300 genes acquired from some other organisms in the last few hundred generations. Most crops contain far more because they reproduce at a more rapid rate. I encourage readers to check out the AG-PHD show on RFD-TV. It explains the impact of each pest on each crop and the financial cost/benefit of each intervention (fertilizers, pesticides, varietal selection). Both science and economics show that some varieties (from whatever source) produce better, others resist pests while others tolerate herbicides. The last is important in that it reduces the number of tractor passes over a field which reduces both fuel use and soil degradation. Admit that few farmers are going to go organic and you will conclude that new cultivars and growing methods are better than what came before.
Have none on this list read the vital book “Altered Genes, Twisted Truth”? by Attorney and GMO researcher Steven Druker? If not,that is your assignment!!
I found this book, not in my public library but in my local organic health food store between the one saying alkaline water cures cancer and one that aligns my chakras.
The author is not a journalist required to verify sources or a scientist qualified to judge them, but an attorney trained to persuade. I’ll stick with the thousands of Phds in the AAAS.
Mr. Drucker collects conspiracies hoping that volume covers for none being particularly convincing. If the FDA did not require sufficient testing, just how much testing is enough? Mr. Drucker can always find someone whose opinion demands more but not proof.
If one GMO crop were to cause a problem, does that indict every crop produced with a similar technology? Science does not say that but religion does. A lawyer repeats whatever persuades.
His references quote opinion articles as if they were peer-reviewed science but does not indict the technology as the title claims.
Positive reviews are concentrated in the organic press which supports my original claim. Read anything by Charles Fort who used the same technique.
Mr, Cruder (sounds like an appropriate name), You would also find Altered Genes, “Twisted Truth” ranking high (at one point #1in the science section) on Amazon. Druker may not BE a scientist (indeed he is a meticulous attorney) but the people he cites ARE scientists of the highest level, and HONEST, in contrast to those who prostitute their scientific credentials for profit. He details many, many studies. Scientific studies and exposure of fraud are NOT conspiracies. People who read ANH are looking for truth, and therefore would rightfully shun your views.
I use my real name. Are you afraid to use yours because you repeat logical fallacies that are common on this site?
Influence by a company seeking approval of a crop cultivar proves nothing about whether the cultivar is safe for animal or human consumption. A lawyer or a politician might convince with argument by innuendo but it is logically invalid.
Secondly, even if consumption of one particular cultivar is questionable, it proves nothing about other crops that are produced by vaguely similar technology. That is also argument by innuendo.
Thirdly, one might attack one particular cultivar not for its effects when consumed but for the environmental effects of its cultivation. While that attack has some validity, it says nothing about other cultivars. Again innuendo.
Attacking GMO salmon because Monsanto got favoritism for GMO Corn or because GMO soybeans utilize more herbicides is not just innuendo but religion.
Clearly, you have not read Druker’s “Altered Genes, Twisted Truth,” as he cites specifics in fraudulent methodology and collusion with agencies, demonstrating conflicts interest on a grand scale, a huge dose of obfuscation, and refusal to look at evidence,among other documentation, adhering very well to logic (which i used to teach decades ago). What he presents is NOT innuendo at all. Try reading what he has to say, unless your role here is that of a troll. Your opposition here will likely spur an interest by others in discovering this amazing book. Good!
The concern about GE salmon has nothing to do with Monsanto favoritism (clearly evident in a plethora of cases) but as a result of unintended consequences, as well as unknown health risks.
And Yes, my real name is Jon.
Your last name is?
Accusations against one company do not implicate other companies and universities involved with GMOs. That absurd claim invites ridicule and does recommend anonymity.
The original GMO corn patent expired years ago. Virtually every university agricultural extension department has derived a state variety for which several are already selling seed. Are they evil as well, tainted by those same three capital letters?
Any book or any person extending the guilt of one person or company to others based merely on three letters is either profiting (Drucker and the organics industry) or making a religious statement..
That war is over. The losers who choose to remain frightened will do so.
Crud, you and the Monsanto criminals and their biotech partners who pay you lost. The public will no longer accept the biotech propaganda justifying ecocide and genocide for obscene profit. No matter how many “absurds” you pompously throw around for justification, you are guilty as charged.
One is left to only shake their heads at his total stupidity and flagrant foolishness….I hope he eats all those GMO products and leaves this planet quite soon.
Crud, Monsanto is a criminal corporation. It is guilty of genocide and massive ecocide. You defend them because you are involved in criminal behavior.
The kindest thing you could possibly do is to take this crap of yours and stick it.
What say you of the many wise countries that totally ban all the harmful foods and do not let money buy their brains????
Truth is what you lack…Go spead your viscious lies on another board…We are too wise for you and you are genetically Obtuse.
In Arizona you can go to a an organic farm and pick all your own veggies…and that is so very wonderful….I grow many veggies but cannot manage to grow them all…
I have actually READ the research, mr. and I will tell you right now, I can TELL you HAVEN”T! You won’t sway anyone here. We all know the truth. ALL THE WAY BACK TO MONSATAN’s INSEPTION. And the NAS had a hard time, after looking at all the 900 plus “studies” of industry science. came up with the fact that there actually NEVER WERE ANY extensive studies , in particularly with the Enlist Duo… , in order for them to actually make a decision… and thought there should be further testing on product by product label. Their opinion was bought and paid for. Corruption and Conflict of Interest is rampant …. people spreading lies, like you… I just tell them to go eat a bag of BT!!!! It won’t hurt YOU!!!
That’s all the time I’m going to waste on you.
It is interesting that no scientists currently publishing come to the same conclusion. Either your information is pasted from obsolete sources or they are sources which have not been accepted for publishing by any reputable journal. I repeat that no scientific organization and no national nutritional standard agrees with you. There are countries which restrict GMO crops but that is a political rather than scientific decision driven more by economic competition than the quality of the agricultural product. You would be more credible if you did not hide behind a made-up name. When those who cry conspiracy hide from the light of day, readers know where the corruption must be.
He sounds like John McCrap in Arizona….I hope she feeds them all GMO foods at his table.
You are totally obtuse and the problem in America and you have no solution…Your body will show you the error of your ways soon enough and for that I am glad.
You appear to be a lunatic….Any foreign country keeps it’s citizens safe by banning GMO totally and Monsanto is no consideration to them…They do not get rich on the stomachs of their citizens as this country does…Our bodies that have been free of the daming products let us know when our foods are poison…I see you will never know that until in the hospice.
i want my food gmo free
NO MORE GMO! Government has sold us out…We have to do something to end this. People want to get frankenfood-that’s their business but the rest of us who want to eat REAL food have a right to know so label it DAMNIT! Or we the consumers can just start putting skull & cross bones stickers on processed crap. I hope every politician who sold us out gets the worst type of cancer and dies a slow agonising death. That’s what they deserve for what they’re doing to us.
I believe that is what is occuring in Hillary….sad to say it does make my day.
Mine too but she’s been in bed with Monsanto for years. She deserves it.
Go the Organic Consumers Organization website and request free GMO/Monsanto literature and disperse widely. People need to be made aware of what’s happening to our food supply, water supply and environment. They’ll send information sheets explaining what GMOs are, bumper stickers, and more.
Great idea, thanks! Hard thing tho is I still have some friends who call me a crack pot for buying organic. A lot have woken up but there are still many who don’t understand the dangers or have the “everything is already contaminated, why bother” attitude.
Well, when someone says, or looks at me like, I’m crazy, I say, “Well, it’s much more sensible to NOT believe any of this stuff. I mean, it really IS unbelievable.”. And, then I let it go. Everyone has to catch on at their own pace. It really is quite overwhelming.
It is overwhelming. I’ve learnt to let it go…there’s two schools of thought here- we can either spend to eat right given the current info we have or we can continue to at the hazardous ‘waste’ and pay for it at the end. We’re going to pay at one end or the other anyway. I’d rather spend on prevention. Others will reach their own awakening-hopefully sooner rather than later
The best plan is not buy any products containing GMO’s or GE’s. I know it is expensive to buy all organic but in the long run the cost of health care will outstrip any money spent on organic.
Buy local, buy organic, grow your own. It’s only way to fight the destruction of our food supply and the environment.
I am growing my own veggies….Then we know what we eat.
Well, I’m moving out of the country, to a country that bans GMOs (at least officially, though perhaps not 100% in practice) and where I can grow my own food year round.
We are too old to move and probably are needed here.
I’m too old to stay and fight, and I’m responsible for a young child who I need to keep safe.
I need Donald to win….the other option is no option at all….
I plan to find out if my most bought products are GMO free, use GMO free products only and boycott all the rest.
YES!!!
We need counter information by big players to play a role in our media, such as a NEW Cable news organization that is not beholden to the Conglomerates. That can be seen at same time slots as the other sell out news organizations.
I watch Newsmax some of the time…Fox is sold out…too. I am hoping Trump will hire only non biased reporters and start the American News Channel…I feel sure he wants to do that with the trouble crooked media gives him now.
GMO free is one thing… is the food GLYPHOSATE FREE? That’s the other thing we need to know, and it’s just as important
Absolutely. I can test it for you…15 minutes after consuming a product with glyphosate I will have gut pain, muscle pain and weakness and rashes. A salad in a typical restaurant will do it every time!
Eating out is almost impossible now…They do not do the checking for us…I envy your bodies ability to let you know…I have my gluten warnings….
What I find amusing is when I call the tel. number on the package and ask if there are any GMO or GE products contained within and the person on the other end of the phone asks, “What’s that?”. They may know full well, but since they asked, I politely explain in detail. If they still don’t know, I ask to speak to a supervisor and if they cannot tell me I explain I will post on their FB page and mine, to boycott this product until we can determine whether this food is GMO or GE. Sometimes I make a day of just calling…squeaky wheel, squeaky wheel…..
This goes up the food chain to our corropernment (corrupt + government) big food, big paharma bribed our government to do what they want. Our government is a dictatorship in disguies, Land of the free, might of been true before the Mafiament took over.
How about just eliminating as many processed foods as possible from your diet for starters?
Needs much more purging than that….I spend so much time in the market reading tiny labels….we should have safe food…FDA was for that purpose at one time in my childhood….
That’s a good start but as someone else here already pointed out, we still need to be aware of glyphosphate being sprayed on foods. This, if I’m understanding it correctly, is why whole wheat/grains are not considered good anymore-they are sprayed during growing and slo at or just before harvest as well. Not to mention if you eat meat-what diet was it fed? If they don’t graze on grass, you’re getting GMO’s in the meat you eat. This is a holy mess-I hope Monsanto Bayer is hung to dry at the tribunal in a couple weeks and made to pay to clean up the mess they’ve created.
robert cruder is a corporate shill. The science is out there and GMOs and pesticide laden foods are not safe. If they were why does not big industry label the foods as such? because they know it is not safe. PERIOD. You do not need to know any more. Boycott them until they label their foods. If they use a QR code or hide the info, simply leave their poison on the shelf.
Other civilized countries ban all GMO’s we promote them……Our poor old America has been stolen right out from under us…Lock up the Muslim in chief now.
I do assume all is GMO and most actually is unless it is labled Organic and I think they play around with this as well….My health improved so dramatically when my nurse practitioner told me to look to the food in the carts in this town…I began to look at it carefully…I continue to constantly improve my health by what I allow in my food basket and what I refuse to buy at all….The governmnet through Monsanto and now Monsanto Bayer is killing us with Frankenfoods….and the Frankenfoods are cheaper…But at what price….the health problems caused will break our bank. Hillary is a fool of Monsanto….of course, it makes her richer. What good her crooked millions when she has the results in her diminishing health and stamina.
The witch is also illegal to run for President as there are the laws that prevent it with the crimes she has committed…She can never handle classified material again. Believe it and vote it.