Food Fight No More Hidden GMOs
California voters face a food-protection milestone this November when Proposi- tion 37, a citizens’ initiative, appears on their ballots. If it passes, California will be the first state to require labeling of a wide range of foods containing geneti- cally engineered (GE) ingredients. Determined to defeat this first-ever initiative, some of the nation’s largest biotech and agribusiness companies have poured millions of dollars into negative advertising. Even more alarm- ing is that much of the money comes from sources most shoppers would not suspect. “Consumers might be surprised to find out that brands hiding under ‘natural’ façades are in fact owned by multi-billion-dollar corporations that are contributing bushel baskets of cash to defeating Proposition 37,” says Charlotte Vallaeys, director of Farm and Food Policy at The Cornucopia Insti- tute, a nonprofit dedicated to support- ing sustainable, organic agriculture via research, investigation and education. According to Cornucopia, recent polls indicate that nearly 70 percent of California citizens support informa- tional labeling. Proponents of Proposi- tion 37 have contributed $3 million—a number dwarfed by the $23 million bursting from biotech and food manu- facturer coffers to fight the measure. The California vote is crucial because many companies will find it more expensive to produce foods with GE labels for California while creat- ing a different product line of foods for the rest of the nation. “Just as we’ve observed in Europe, where labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is mandatory, we fully expect that when given a choice, consumers will choose organic or non-GMO products,” said Cornucopia Co-Director Mark A. Kastel. To help consumers identify and support organic brands whose cor- porate owners have contributed to Proposition 37 and avoid product lines committed to its defeat, Cornucopia has compiled an online guide and is sponsoring a petition.
Learn more and take action at Cornu-
copia.org/2012/08/prop37.
36 Collier/Lee Counties
Food Labeling and GMOs Why Local Health Practitioners Favor Transparency
by Linda Sechrist T
his year, more than 1 million Californians—far more than the 500,000 re- quired to force a ballot—signed a petition seeking a referendum on the man- datory labeling of genetically engineered (GE) products. The result is Propo- sition 37—the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. This grassroots ballot initiative has the power, if passed, to ensure truer transparency in the food industry and help end the routine practice of labeling and marketing GE foods—which result in genetically modified organisms, or GMOs—as “natural”. Most importantly, it will allow consumers to exercise their power of choice in the marketplace.
Labeling of GE products has been defeated by legislators in 19 states, but is required in more than 40 countries including Japan, Australia and most of Europe. According to a poll conducted by Thomson Reuters and National Public Radio, more than 93 percent of Americans want GE foods labeled. In other words, the overwhelming majority of consumers want to know if the foods they are buying contain ingredients derived from lab-created seeds that have been genetically en- gineered/modified to resist (and sometimes even create their own) toxic pesticides, withstand drought or produce higher yields.
To learn more about the important issue of GE foods and food labeling,
Natural Awakenings turned to Collier and Lee County health practitioners for their opinions. We interviewed Miranda Norris, a health coach certified by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition; Dr. Eric Gerken, DC, wellness consultant and owner of Dr. Gerken’s Health Services, in Fort Myers; Sayer Ji, founder of GreenMedInfo. com and manager of For Goodness Sake Organic Marketplace & Café, in Bonita Springs; Dr. John Edwards, DC, owner of Mama’s Chiropractic Clinic, in Cape Coral; Dee Harris, licensed dietician/nutritionist at Perlmutter Health Center, in Naples; and Deborah Post, advanced nurse practitioner and owner of Well Bridges, in Fort Myers.
Miranda Norris
Norris, who works with parents interested in making good decisions about what to feed their families, is hopeful that California voters will pass Proposition 37 and that other states will follow the example.
swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com
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