The "Just Label It" campaign is delivering over one million comments in support of labeling genetically engineered foods to the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) today.
Americans from all 50 states submitted comments saying they have a right to know what’s in their food and how it’s produced.
It’s time the FDA gives Americans the same rights as people in 40 other countries, including all of our major trade partners: to know whether foods have been genetically modified (GMO).
In their survey, released today, they found that a vast majority of Americans favor labeling: Democrats (93%), Independents (90%), and Republicans (89%).
Yet so far, the FDA has refused to act.
FDA does not independently test GMO foods; in the U.S., food safety oversight is limited to voluntary consultation with industry. Safety is based on the confidential industry data.
The Just Label It campaign formed in October 2011 after the Center for Food Safety filed a petition with the (FDA) to require the labeling of GMO foods. The campaign has over 500 partner organizations.
What is a GMO?
"Genetically engineered foods," "genetically modified organisms," or GMOs, are organisms that have been created through application of transgenic, gene-splicing techniques that are part of biotechnology.
This relatively new science allows DNA (genetic material) from one species to be transferred into another species, creating transgenic organisms with combinations of genes from plants, animals, bacteria, and even viral gene pools.
The mixing of genes from different species that have never shared genes in the past is what makes GMOs and GE crops so unique. It is impossible to create such transgenic organisms through traditional crossbreeding methods.
What’s the Point of GMO’s?
Monsanto, DuPont, Bayer and others in the GMO business are really in the chemical business. They promote GMO seeds to farmers as a way to reduce pesticide use, but in practice farmers are using five times more Round Up than in 1997.
Almost the entire US soy (94%) and corn (72%) crop is now GMO. The only way to avoid these crops is to buy certified organic.
Research shows that Monsanto’s Roundup-ready crops lead to mental illness and obesity, primarily by destroying the amount of good bacteria in the gut. It’s also connected to infertility and birth defects.
Glyphosate is so widespread that it’s found to be polluting the world’s drinking water through the widespread contamination of aquifers, wells, and springs. What may be most shocking is that very high concentrations of glyphosate have been found in 100 percent of urine samples tested in a recent study.
In addition to human health affects, Round Up is ravaging insect populations, such as monarch butterflies, whose population has declined for 17 years, reaching an all-time low in 2009-2010.
Learn more at Just Label It:
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