GM Food Labeling - Update

New information for those following the Monsanto and Codex issues….

U.S. Pressure on South Africa at Codex Quashes Hopes For Mandatory GM Food Labeling in 2008 According to the Natural Solutions Foundation

http://www.prweb.com/releases/GM_Labeling/Codex…

In case some do not have the time to go to the site right now, here are some of the things mentioned….

South Africa’s strong objection to food containing any unlabeled Genetically Modified (GM) ingredients was registered in a formal document presented to the Codex Committee on Food Labeling (Ottawa) for which the Natural Solutions Foundation provided technical support for the document. The United States, which prohibits labeling GM foods, immediately demanded that the South African (SA) government in Pretoria withdraw its Codex submission. Bowing to U.S. pressure, SA formally withdrew its paper defeating the possibility of CCFL approval of mandatory GM labeling for at least another year.

The U.S. and its allies, including Argentina, Mexico, Columbia, the Philippines and Canada and others expressed their opposition to any labeling for GM foods. However, in an early morning African strategy session on the day of discussion, more than 20 countries including Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Sudan, Swaziland, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa agreed that they would pursue mandatory GM labeling strongly to satisfy their concerns about GM and protect all consumers’ “right to know”. Natural Solutions Foundation attended this meeting as an observer. CRD 21 was a key element in this strategy.

The U.S. is a major source of GM-containing foods: 75% or more of all prepared and prepackaged foods in the U.S. contain GM ingredients.

United States GM policy derives from a 1992 Executive Order signed by then-President George H. W. Bush, which declared that GM organisms, although patentable, are equivalent to unmodified organisms. As a consequence, U.S. FDA prohibits GM labeling because, as the U.S. Delegate stated at a CCFL Working Group on labeling GM foods (Oslo, 2007), consumers who know that their food contains GM components will overwhelmingly reject the food in favor of natural foods. FDA stated at that meeting that giving consumers accurate information about GM foods would be “false and misleading” since there is administratively no difference between conventional and GM foods. Other countries find this troublesome.

No safety testing is required by the U.S. before patented organisms become part of the food chain.

Comments

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    That guy really needs a solid punch to the head.

  • I have recently seen a lot of talk about PLU codes on our produce.

    PLU stands for price look-up code. The sticker you find on your produce has the PLU# on them.

    examples: #4132 or #3122

  • newbienewbie Raw Newbie

    thanks for posting this. if you find any more info, please continue to update us. I’m very curious about the labeling that is currently in use. when I asked the produce manager at my local store about a particulate pear that only had a name on it, not location grown or anything else (it was in the ‘organic’ section), he said, “it’s probably from Washington state,” but he couldn’t confirm it.

    why is it a mystery? I’ve looked online and haven’t been able to decypher those numbers. there should be a reference guide somewhere…

  • What can be done about this?

  • Right now, I truly think making yourself and others aware of it, is the best thing that we can do. I think it is very important that people realize and know that the FDA has said there is administratively no difference between conventional and GM foods. (That is just staggering to me.)

    We actually have a friend who knows someone with Morgellon’s Disease.

    Morgellon’s Disease http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/index.php?p=599

    http://www.morgellons.org

    The more people who start to buy organic from stores and local farmers/co-ops might effect the demand and supply. It might demand more stores to bring in more organic and possibly lower the cost of the organic.

    You can also sign petitions and write your representatives. Sign petitions that we do not accept the Codex Standards.

    http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/

    You can go to this site and sign the petition against Codex. You can also sign up for their newsletters and they will keep you updated on what is going on. On the right side of the page you will see where you can…..

    1. tell the U.S. House of Representatives to protect your health freedom.

    2. support Ron Paul’s Health Freedom Protection Act.

    3. ask the Presidential candidates to clarify their stance on health freedom issues.

    (However, we have come to the conclusion that Ron Paul is the only candidate who actually has any interest in the people. He understands the Codex issue and wants it stopped. We were not for Ron Paul in the beginning, but now we are starting to see the truth. My husband and I have come to think he might be the only one, if elected who would actually listen to the people. We find it interesting that the major corporate/goverment elitist own the media, and you do not see Ron Paul being talk about among the candidates. Most people do not even realize he is still running. They are doing a good job of trying to shut him down.)

    Note this is just our opinion from learning different things over the last couple of months. I am not trying to tell anyone who to vote for. Just Sharing my Thoughts.

    Begin to question, research, find answers, and come to the conclusions you feel are right for you.

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