{"id":7080,"date":"2012-03-15T00:01:25","date_gmt":"2012-03-15T04:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=7080"},"modified":"2012-11-02T10:58:51","modified_gmt":"2012-11-02T14:58:51","slug":"initiatives-to-label-genetically-engineered-food-gain-momentum-across-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2012\/03\/initiatives-to-label-genetically-engineered-food-gain-momentum-across-the-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Initiatives to Label Genetically Engineered Food Gain Momentum Across the Country"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><font size=\"2\">(<em>Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, March 15, 2012) Earlier this week, 55 Members of Congress <a href=\"http:\/\/www.centerforfoodsafety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Final-Signed-GE-Labeling-Letter.pdf\">signed on to a letter<\/a> that calls on U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, M.D. to require the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) food. The bicameral letter, led by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR), was written in support of a legal petition filed by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) on behalf of the Just Label It campaign and its nearly 400 partner organizations and businesses, including Beyond Pesticides. So far, <a href=\"http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/\">over 950,000 people have submitted comments<\/a> in support of labeling since CFS filed the <a href=\"http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/gelabelingpetition.pdf\">legal petition<\/a> in October 2011. <\/p>\n<p>The campaign also recently launched a new <a href=\"http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/about-ge-foods\/ge-foods-at-a-glance\/\">infographic<\/a>, (pictured to the right) which visually explains why FDA should Just Label It. It is designed to clearly show the need for labeling of GE foods, and is convenient for sharing on-line and via social media. <a href=\"http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Infographic-march7a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Infographic-march7a.jpg\" title=\"http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Infographic-march7a.jpg\" class=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" height=\"1000\" align=\"right\" border=\"0\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, on the West coast, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.carighttoknow.org\/\">The California Right to Know Initiative Campaign<\/a> is also gaining momentum with its signature gathering efforts across the state to place a voter backed initiative on the November 2012 ballot that would mandate labeling of genetically engineered food. The effort is supported by a broad coalition of public health, family, environmental organizations, farmers and individuals. So far, thousands of energized volunteers have been collecting signatures to qualify the petition for the ballot since mid-February across the state.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.centerforfoodsafety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Final-Signed-GE-Labeling-Letter.pdf\">The Congressional letter to FDA states<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cAt issue is the fundamental right consumers have to make informed choices about the food they eat\u201d\u00a6The agency currently requires over 3,000 other ingredients, additives, and processes to be labeled; providing basic information doesn\u2019t confuse the public, it empowers them to make choices. Absent labeling, Americans are unable to choose for themselves whether to purchase GE foods\u201d\u00a6. We urge you to fully review the facts, law, and science, and side with the American public by requiring the labeling of genetically engineered foods as is done in nearly 50 countries throughout the world.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the U.S. there is overwhelming public demand \u201d\u201dconsistently near 95%\u201d\u201d for the labeling of GE foods. The U.S. policy of not requiring GE labeling makes it a stark outlier among developed and developing nations. Nearly 50 countries have mandatory labeling policies for GE foods including South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Brazil, China, Australia, New Zealand, the entire European Union, and many others.<\/p>\n<p>In its 1992 policy statement, FDA allowed GE foods to be marketed without labeling on the basis that they were not \u201cmaterially\u201d different from other foods. However, the agency severely limited what it considered \u201cmaterial\u201d by targeting only changes in food that could be recognized by taste, smell, or other senses \u2014applying 19th century science to the regulation of 21st century food technologies. The outdated standard has no legal basis in the statute and was adopted by FDA despite a lack of scientific studies or data to support the assumption that GE foods are not materially different from conventional foods.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The 45 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to join the Congressional letter are: <\/strong>Peter DeFazio (OR-4), Richard Hanna (NY-24), Dennis Kucinich (OH-10), George Miller, (CA-7), Louise Slaughter(NY-28), Keith Ellison (MN-5), Raul Grijalva (AZ-7), Peter Welch (VT-At Large), Hansen Clarke (MI-13), Earl Blumenauer, (OR-3), Lloyd Doggett (TX-25), Anna Eshoo (CA-14), Sam Farr (CA-17), Maurice Hinchey (NY-22), Rush Holt (NJ-12), Chellie Pingree (ME-1), Jim McDermott WA-7), Madeleine Bordallo (GU-At Large), James Moran (VA-8), John Olver (MA-1), Jared Polis (CO-2), Charles Rangel (NY-15), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1), Pete Stark (CA-13), Howard L. Berman (CA-28), Robert Brady (PA-1), David Cicilline (RI-1), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-11), Steve Cohen (TN-9), Dianne DeGette (CO-1), Bob Filner (CA-5), Barney Frank (MA-4), Luis Gutierrez (IL-4), Janice Hahn (CA-36), Michael Honda (CA-15), Barbara Lee (CA-9), Zoe Lofgren (CA-16), James McGovern (MA-3), Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), Jackie Speier (CA-12), John Tierney (MA-6), Melvin L. Watt (NC-12), Lynn Woolsey (CA-6), Maxine Waters (CA-35), and Grace Napolitano (CA-38).<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nThe 10 Members of the U.S. Senate to join the letter are:<\/strong> Barbara Boxer (CA), Patrick Leahy (VT), Bernie Sanders (VT), Daniel Akaka (HI), Dianne Feinstein (CA), Ron Wyden (OR), Mark Begich (AK), Jon Tester (MT), Richard Blumenthal (CT), and Jeff Merkley (OR).<\/p>\n<p>The letter was supported by more than 70 businesses and organizations including Stonyfield Farm, the National Cooperative Grocers Association, the National Organic Coalition, Beanitos, Inc., Consumers Union, Organic Valley, PCC Natural Markets, the Organic Farming Research Foundation, and a number of farming and fishing associations.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond Pesticides\u2019 goal is to push for labeling as a means of identifying products containing GE ingredients and allow for consumer choice that will drive the market toward sustainable practices. The European Union, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Russia, and China require labeling for GE foods. Recently, the German corporation BASF <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=6642\">announced<\/a> that it would stop developing genetically engineered products targeting the European market, in part due to low consumer demand. Given that <a href=\"http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/faqs\/\">about 95%<\/a> of Americans support mandatory labeling of GE foods, Beyond Pesticides believes that we can have the same impact in the U.S. as in Europe. <\/p>\n<p>The best way to avoid genetically engineered foods in the marketplace is by purchasing foods that have the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/organicfood\/index.htm\">U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Organic Seal<\/a>. Under organic certification standards, genetically modified organisms and their byproducts are prohibited. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/organicfood\/conscience\/index.htm\">For many other reasons<\/a>, organic products are the right choice for consumers; however, the current lax regulations on GE crops in the U.S. present a unique risk to organic growers. Wind-pollinated and bee-pollinated crops, such as corn and alfalfa, have high risks of cross pollination between GE crops and unmodified varieties. For more information on genetically engineered food, please see Beyond Pesticides\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/gmos\/index.htm\">Genetic Engineering program page<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Take Action <\/p>\n<p>In California:<\/strong> In order to get <em>The Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act <\/em>on the ballot in California in 2012, organizers need to collect signatures from 800,000 California voters. Sign up to get involved in our signature gathering efforts and learn more about the campaign at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.carighttoknow.org\">www.carighttoknow.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nationally: <\/strong>Help the Just Label It Campaign exceed its 1,000,000 signature goal by <strong>March 27th<\/strong>. Sign the Just Label It petition and submit your comments to FDA at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.justlabelit.org\/takeaction\">www.justlabelit.org\/takeaction<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>You can also help by<a href=\"http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/about-ge-foods\/ge-foods-at-a-glance\/\"> sharing the infographic<\/a> pictured above, or share the petition with your social networks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/take-action\/\">via Facebook<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?source=webclient&#038;text=We+have+a+right+to+know+what%27s+in+our+food.+Watch+%22Labels+Matter%22+and+add+your+comment+to+the+FDA%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fjustlabelit.org%2Ftake-action%2F+%28via+%40JustLabelIt%29\">Twitter<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.centerforfoodsafety.org\/2012\/03\/12\/fifty-five-members-of-congress-call-on-fda-to-require-labeling-of-genetically-engineered-foods\/\">Center for Food Safety Press Release<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/ge-foods-at-a-glance-just-label-its-new-infographic\/\">Just Label It!<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/carighttoknow.org\">California Right to Know<\/a><\/p>\n<p>All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides. <\/em><br \/>\n<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Beyond Pesticides, March 15, 2012) Earlier this week, 55 Members of Congress signed on to a letter that calls on U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, M.D. to require the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) food. The bicameral letter, led by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR), was written in support of a legal petition filed by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) on behalf of the Just Label It campaign and its nearly 400 partner organizations and businesses, including Beyond Pesticides. So far, over 950,000 people have submitted comments in support of labeling since CFS filed the legal petition in October 2011. The campaign also recently launched a new infographic, (pictured to the right) which visually explains why FDA should Just Label It. It is designed to clearly show the need for labeling of GE foods, and is convenient for sharing on-line and via social media. Meanwhile, on the West coast, The California Right to Know Initiative Campaign is also gaining momentum with its signature gathering efforts across the state to place a voter backed initiative on the November 2012 ballot that would mandate labeling of genetically engineered food. The effort is supported [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,309,276],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-california","category-genetic-engineering","category-labeling","category-take-action"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Initiatives to Label Genetically Engineered Food Gain Momentum Across the Country - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2012\/03\/initiatives-to-label-genetically-engineered-food-gain-momentum-across-the-country\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Initiatives to Label Genetically Engineered Food Gain Momentum Across the Country - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Beyond Pesticides, March 15, 2012) Earlier this week, 55 Members of Congress signed on to a letter that calls on U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, M.D. to require the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) food. The bicameral letter, led by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR), was written in support of a legal petition filed by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) on behalf of the Just Label It campaign and its nearly 400 partner organizations and businesses, including Beyond Pesticides. So far, over 950,000 people have submitted comments in support of labeling since CFS filed the legal petition in October 2011. The campaign also recently launched a new infographic, (pictured to the right) which visually explains why FDA should Just Label It. It is designed to clearly show the need for labeling of GE foods, and is convenient for sharing on-line and via social media. Meanwhile, on the West coast, The California Right to Know Initiative Campaign is also gaining momentum with its signature gathering efforts across the state to place a voter backed initiative on the November 2012 ballot that would mandate labeling of genetically engineered food. The effort is supported [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2012\/03\/initiatives-to-label-genetically-engineered-food-gain-momentum-across-the-country\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-03-15T04:01:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-11-02T14:58:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Infographic-march7a.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2012\/03\/initiatives-to-label-genetically-engineered-food-gain-momentum-across-the-country\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2012\/03\/initiatives-to-label-genetically-engineered-food-gain-momentum-across-the-country\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\"},\"headline\":\"Initiatives to Label Genetically Engineered Food Gain Momentum Across the Country\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-03-15T04:01:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-11-02T14:58:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2012\/03\/initiatives-to-label-genetically-engineered-food-gain-momentum-across-the-country\/\"},\"wordCount\":1079,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2012\/03\/initiatives-to-label-genetically-engineered-food-gain-momentum-across-the-country\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/justlabelit.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Infographic-march7a.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"California\",\"Genetic Engineering\",\"Labeling\",\"Take Action\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2012\/03\/initiatives-to-label-genetically-engineered-food-gain-momentum-across-the-country\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2012\/03\/initiatives-to-label-genetically-engineered-food-gain-momentum-across-the-country\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2012\/03\/initiatives-to-label-genetically-engineered-food-gain-momentum-across-the-country\/\",\"name\":\"Initiatives to Label Genetically Engineered Food Gain Momentum Across the Country - 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The bicameral letter, led by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR), was written in support of a legal petition filed by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) on behalf of the Just Label It campaign and its nearly 400 partner organizations and businesses, including Beyond Pesticides. So far, over 950,000 people have submitted comments in support of labeling since CFS filed the legal petition in October 2011. The campaign also recently launched a new infographic, (pictured to the right) which visually explains why FDA should Just Label It. It is designed to clearly show the need for labeling of GE foods, and is convenient for sharing on-line and via social media. Meanwhile, on the West coast, The California Right to Know Initiative Campaign is also gaining momentum with its signature gathering efforts across the state to place a voter backed initiative on the November 2012 ballot that would mandate labeling of genetically engineered food. 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The founders, who established Beyond Pesticides (originally as National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) as a nonprofit membership organization in 1981, felt that without the existence of such an organized, national network, local, state and national pesticide policy would become, under chemical industry pressure, increasingly unresponsive to public health and environmental concerns. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions that affect them directly. We believe decisions should not be made for us by chemical companies or by decision-makers who either do not have all of the facts or refuse to consider them. Learn more about our work, read A Year in Review\u20142021, our accomplishments are your victories! Beyond Pesticides seeks to protect healthy air, water, land, and food for ourselves and future generations. By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. 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