In two separate recent surveys1, 2, Tilth Producers members identified genetic engineering as one of our highest policy priority issues. In accordance with this priority, Tilth Producers has officially endorsed Initiative 522 to label genetically engineered foods. (Visit yeson522.com/endorse to do the same!)
Ballot Initiative 522 resulted from a heavily volunteer-driven signature gathering campaign in 2012 (with which many Tilth members assisted). Washington voters will find the initiative on ballots this November. If passed, I-522 will require genetically engineered (GE, also known as GMO) food to be labeled. Labeling requirements will apply to fresh produce (though the only fresh produce items with approved genetically engineered varieties are currently sweet corn and papaya), packaged/processed food items with GE ingredients, and GE seeds and seed stock.
Tilth Producers supports Washington consumers’ right to know whether their food contains GE ingredients. As an organic farming organization, we also welcome labeling as a means to increase oversight and accountability of GE crops and reduce the potential for cross-contamination.
Organic certification regulations require that organic farmers do not grow crops which have been genetically engineered. Many customers also seek out non-GE food. GE crops can contaminate non-GE ones both by cross-pollination and by seeds becoming mixed in storage or processing. Labeling will help to prevent this by increasing awareness of genetically engineered material on farms and in processing facilities. It will also help to increase farmer and consumer confidence that they are producing and purchasing a non-GE product when something is not labeled as GE.
Other potential genetic engineering concerns which labeling will help farmers and consumers avoid include ecological impacts, health hazards, and increasing corporate power.
Ecological impacts: Herbicide tolerance, one of the primary traits genetic engineering is used to confer, allows farmers to spray whole fields with herbicides without killing the tolerant crop. This leads directly to increased usage of herbicides, and also leads quickly to resistance developing in the targeted weeds, creating what is known as “superweeds” which can only be killed by stronger herbicides. The other primary commercially marketed genetic modification, adding a gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, that causes plants to produce a protein that is toxic to caterpillars and some insects, can harm caterpillars of species which eat plants that grow near agricultural crops, including Monarch butterflies. Bt crops also quickly lead to resistant pests. Bt-resistance is an issue of special concern to organic farmers, who have long used small amounts of the Bt bacterium as an organic pest control.
Health hazards: Because the FDA considers GE food to be equivalent to non-GE food, few studies have been done to predict the potential impacts of eating GM foods over a lifespan. This is itself a concern, and what few independent studies have been done show troubling results. Inserting foreign genetic material alters the proteins of a plant, which can expose consumers to toxins, trigger allergies, and lead to the development of new diseases. One study by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine which fed GE corn to rats found a dramatic increase in infertility after three generations, as well as low birth rates and higher rates of infant mortality 3.
Corporate power: Despite misleading ad campaigns to the contrary, GE technology is primarily applied in food production as a tool for creating lucrative products. GE seed companies patent the new GE varieties and then sell both the seeds and a license to plant them for one year. One such company, Monsanto, has sued farmers for saving GE seeds to replant the next year, and even for saving seeds contaminated with their patented gene by pollen from neighboring fields. Additionally, engineering for herbicide resistance allows companies who produce both GE seeds and herbicides to sell more of the herbicide, as farmers are able to spray it over both crops and weeds.
Labeling gives consumers and farmers decision-making power over whether or not to consume or grow GE foods. It also provides a disincentive to food manufacturers to use GE ingredients, in the same way in which the recent federally-mandated labeling of the trans-fat contents of foods decreased the use of ingredients containing trans-fats. A manufacturer who fears the results of marketing a product which bears a “partially produced with genetic engineering” label may choose instead to change suppliers to those who can offer non-GE ingredients.
Over 90% of Americans believe GE food should be labeled, according to several recent surveys 4. If you are among them, join Tilth Producers in endorsing I-522 at yeson522.com/endorse.
Citations:
1. https://tilthproducers.org/2012/07/policy-priority-survey-results-are-in/
2. [Link pending official release of Tilth Producers member survey results]
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18191319
4. http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/976/ge-food-labeling/us-polls-on-ge-food-labeling