From the office of U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski:
U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) today announced that she has cosponsored the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act, bipartisan legislation that would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to clearly label genetically engineered (GE) foods so that consumers can make informed choices about what they eat. The will also be using custom barcode labels.
“Americans deserve to know where their food comes from,” Senator Mikulski said. “This legislation will help families make informed decisions. If GE foods are safe, let them into the market, but give consumers the information they need to avoid these products if they choose to. We need to let Americans – many of whom find this repugnant – speak with their dollars and choose the food they feel confident is safe.”
According to surveys, more than 90 percent of Americans support the labeling of genetically engineered foods. In fact, many consumers are surprised to learn that GE foods are not already labeled.
Currently, the FDA requires the labeling of over 3,000 ingredients, additives and processes, but the agency has resisted labels for genetically modified foods. In a 1992 policy statement, the FDA allowed GE foods to be marketed without labeling, claiming that these foods were not “materially” different from other foods because the genetic differences could not be recognized by taste, smell or other senses.
Unfortunately, the FDA’s antiquated labeling policy has not kept pace with 21st century food technologies that allow for a wide array of genetic and molecular changes to food that can’t be detected by human senses. Common sense would indicate that GE corn that produces its own insecticide – or is engineered to survive being doused by herbicides – is materially different from traditional corn that does not. Even the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has recognized that these foods are materially different and novel for patent purposes.
Consumers – who are used to reading labels to see if foods contain MSG, gluten, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup or aspartame – clearly want more information. More than one and a half million Americans have filed comments with the FDA urging the agency to label GE foods.
The bipartisan legislation would require clear labels for genetically engineered whole foods and processed foods, including fish and seafood. The measure would direct the FDA to write new labeling standards that are consistent with U.S. labeling standards and international standards.
Sixty-four countries around the world already require the labeling of GE foods, including all the member nations of the European Union, Russia, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand.
The bill was introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and is cosponsored by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore,), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). The companion House bill was introduced by U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), and is cosponsored by Representatives Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), James Moran (D-Va.), Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Don Young (R-Alaska), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), George Miller (D-Calif.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Ann Kuster (D-N.H.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Donna Edwards (D-Md.), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Rush Holt (D-N.J.), Zoe Logfren (D-Calif.), Michael H. Michaud (D-Calif.) and Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.).
Eileen says
Terrific news! I want to know what I am eating – and I do NOT want to eat food that has been genetically modified!
Jim in Hickory says
Well fuck, Eileen, you do realize almost all food produced in the US has been genetically modified? Aside from the shit sold in stores such as Whole Paycheck.
Because says
Put your tin hat on and keep BGE from installing that Smart Meter Jim. Why are you back here at the computer posting about something other than Public Employees getting coffee and donuts at Wawa?
ALEX R says
Jim, Clean up your mouth.
Dagger, If Jim’s use of language is acceptable to you then you are not the class operation I thought and hoped you might be.
Citizen says
Jim,
Almost all food has been genetically modified? Give me some statistics from reliable sources. Shopping at Whole Foods is a choice. Fortunately for you there isn’t one near here so you won’t have to be tempted to shop there. My feeling on labeling GE foods is this: if GE foods were so great, companies would want us to know. They would brag about it the way car companies brag about advanced engineering in their cars. The fact that they do not want to tell us they have tampered with the foods is reason enough to want to know.
Finally, there is no need to cuss at Eileen for stating her preference. How does this hurt you in any way?
Luther Lingus says
I would like to sponsor a bill labeling Mikulski as Marxist.
ALEX R says
Truth in labeling.
Liberty Lover says
Actually, most of your processed foods do contain genetically modified ingredients. Jim in Hickory is a potty mouth but he is correct. Check out the Scientific American article from August 6, 2010 – 90% of all Canola is genetically modified, and the modified version is now found in the wild due to cross-pollination.
According to the USDA, 93% of soy and 88% of corn grown in the US in 2011 was genetically modified. Soy makes your hydrogenated oils, lecithins and emulsifiers. Corn feeds your chicken, pork and beef and is added to almost anything sweet in the form of good old high-fructose corn syrup. It’s in your cereal and your fruit juices.
I don’t profess to know all the details on GM foods, but I have read some studies that show GM crops are nutritionally inferior to natural crops, corn being one of the worst. No study to point to on that, @Citizen, just google it.
What I still want to hear from Senator Mikulski is why she let the Monsanto Rider pass through the Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill this March, since she’s Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. And I don’t buy the ‘Oops, sorry – I didn’t see it’ routine’ – if anyone should be reading every jot and tittle of a bill, it should be the Chair and her staff. In the rider, the federal courts no longer have the power to halt the sale of GM produce, even if tests find it to be potentially hazardous to the public.
Food for thought says
After some research on the issue to label foods as GMO I discovered that the FDA has the ability to change the definition of GMO or genetically engineered at its discretion. How is that for a Catch 22? I recommend going to the Farmers Market and asking the farmers, themselves, what they are doing. You will quickly learn what they are feeding they livestock and if they are using GMO crops. I am very concerned about the governments’ involvement in our foods and the link to Agenda 21 and the future potential via farms put in land trusts to move toward collectivized agriculture. A great source of information is Joel Salatin at Polyface Farms in Virginia. I totally support buying LOCAL as long as it is not government controlled, and I can decide for myself which farmers I want to buy from. Very concerning to me was understanding the governments food pyramid that came out what back in the 1970s or 80s with emphasis on carbs and the rapid increase in obesity and diabetes and the connection to high fructose corn syrup which is a product of GMO corn. Also consider the decline in the bee population in conjunction with Round Up Ready corn. I believe in food freedom and keeping the to government out of my food and diet. If someone wants to drink a super size coke, that is his or her decision and business. Finally, I am pretty sure that through the Common Core Standards in our public schools that the teachers are recording what the students are eating. Where are we headed in Harford County one with the confluence Agenda 21/Plan Maryland (which all property owners should be questioning). the Common Core (which all parents and PTA should be understanding what and how their kids are being taught), and Obamacare. Who is going to foot the bill when we are so heavily in debt with a declining dollar. Time to wake up and smell the coffee in Harford County. Luckily, there are amazing resources on the Internet to educate yourself on the dangers we are faced with now and what lies ahead.
Teacher who is not recording what your kid eats says
@Food for thought: Seriously? I would suggest you actually take time to go to MSDE and read the common core standards. They pertain to Reading and Mathematics. Teachers are much to busy with the endless list of responsibilities, increasing class sizes, lacks of materials and time, etc. etc. to worry about what your kid is shoveling into his/her mouth. Your brand of crazy is a perfect example of what is wrong with this county.