If GMOs Are So Great, Why Not Advertise Them?

As you’ve probably noticed, there’s a lot of buzz around genetically modified organisms (GMO), especially in food. California voters are going to be heading to the polls to determine if manufacturers will be required to label GMOs in their food products in that state. California is the 8th largest economy in the world (yes, you read that right), so if manufacturers are required to label GMOs in California, all products they sell (likely) will be labeled since it’s not cost-effective to have packaging for California and packaging for the rest of the country.

I can’t speak to the text of California’s Prop 37 – I’m not a voter there and haven’t read the bill in its entirety. However, I can speak to wanting to know what’s in the food I’m eating. That’s pretty fundamental. And, to repurpose one of the common arguments FOR Prop 37, if GMOs are not harmful or better yet, if they’re so great, why the refusal to label them as such?

When foods are packed with Omega 3’s, manufacturers splash that all over the packaging. The big thing right now seems to be “made with 33g whole grain”, which I honestly don’t know exactly why that matters since that product has 1g fiber per serving….but I digress. The point is when there’s a health benefit – real or perceived – manufacturers are quick to pounce on it and announce it all over their packaging, even when it’s just “window dressing”. So why don’t we see big splashy packaging announcing “packed with GMOs!” or “made with the latest GMOs, try it today and taste the difference!” ?

We don’t because there’s no consumer benefit to GMOs (lots of downside, but that’s for another post). The benefit is to large growers and manufacturers and, as most major issues in life, it comes down to money.

So, here’s my suggestion for you – this month is the 3rd annual non-GMO month, sponsored by the Non-GMO Project. In celebration, check out the movie Genetic Roulette (http://www.geneticroulette.com) or visit the folks at Responsible Technology (http://www.responsibletechnology.org/) to learn more. It’s a fascinating topic and when you have a wide range of people from many different disciplines opposing GMOs, it’s worth paying attention to. Learn more, become informed, form your own opinion. In the meantime, shopOrganic just relaunched as shopOrganic & shopGMOFree to let our customers know that every product we carry is free of GMOs. We’ve dropped entire product lines because the manufacturer indicated their products all contain some GMOs (that was a real jaw-dropper). We’ve added new products (often from smaller producers) to offer products that we know are organic & GMO-free. Visit today and shop safe.