Today, more than sixty genetically modified crops have been approved for US food and feed supplies and there are many awaiting approval at the USDA. It’s estimated that 80% of processed food in the US contain GMO’s.
Anti GMO’s activists argue that GMO’s are unhealthy; create dangerous side effects and haven’t been proven nontoxic. They highlight that no long-term human studies on GMO safety have been conducted, and the FDA does not require safety assessments of genetically engineered foods or run its own independent safety tests. Additionally, many of the claims touting the need for GMO’s have since been debunked.
For these reasons, 64 countries accounting for 40% of the world’s population currently require the labeling of GMO’s, allowing consumers to make a choice on whether or not they’d like to consume these foods. Here in the United States, new survey data provided by the Environmental Working Group emphasizes what polls by Washington Post, New York Times and Consumer Reports have been showing for years: 9 of every 10 Americans want genetically engineered foods to be labeled.
Despite these consumer demands, bill H.R. 1599, ironically named the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, passed in the House of Representatives on July 23 of this year and now heads to the Senate. Sponsored by Mike Pompeo, Representative for Kansas’s 4th congressional district, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Obama, this bill would block states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from labeling foods that contain GMO’s. It would also allow food companies to continue to describe products containing GMO ingredients as “natural.” Environmental and consumer rights organizations have condemned the bill because it would keep consumers in the dark even though a vast majority of Americans support the right to know whether their food contains GMOs.
Whatever your views on GMOs, Americans want and deserve the right to know what’s in their food. Little Duck Organics is committed to making clean, healthy foods for the whole family. All of our snacks are packed with vitamins and nutrients and completely certified non-GMO by the non-GMO project. Until the US starts labeling GMO’s, choose brands like us that are committed to making products without them.