FDA and GMO labels

http://www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob418.html

Subscribe & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Donate  TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK Not Buyin’ It From the get-go, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has been determined to keep labels off of foods containing GMOs (genetically modified organisms). On Wednesday (March 27), FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg revealed that the FDA hasn’t changed its position on GMOs, despite two decades’ worth of studies linking GMOs, and the pesticides and herbicides required to grow them, to everything from allergies to cancer. In the catch 22 of the big GMO safety debate, Hamburg said the FDA has “not found evidence of safety risks” associated with GMOs. Of course not. Because without labels, we humans have a hard time tracing our ailments to GMO foods. Hamburg also revealed that the FDA plans to finalize its voluntary guidance on GMO labeling. That’s a direct affront to consumers, 90 percent of whom want mandatory labeling laws. And a bow to the food industry, which has drafted a billthat would require the FDA to rule on voluntary GMO labeling. With Vermont and Oregon poised to pass mandatory GMO labeling laws in 2014, the FDA is clearly trying to muddy the waters with its “voluntary” guidance. As consumers, we know that voluntary labeling means no labeling. And we’re not buying it. Read the press release, including Hamburg’s statement TAKE ACTION: Tell the FDA: No Watered-Down, Voluntary Federal GMO Labeling Rules!