Write a commentPublished by http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/magazine, this article is submitted by the CoffeeNook, in Oswego. Sharity Bassett and Aleta Walborn, co-owners of the CoffeeNook, in Oswego, offer up healthy organic soups, sandwiches and baked goods, along with vegan, vegetarian and some gluten-free options. The mother-daughter team are co-owners with Aleta's son, Clay.
NOTE: GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organisms and in the case of food, it usually refers to foods that have been genetically engineered for reasons unrelated to health or nourishment. You may also see the term GE foods, which stands for "genetically engineered" foods, or terms like "genetically altered" or "genetically modified" or "genetically improved" to describe these foods.
GMO labeling
Don't take labeling for granted. In the past, we fought hard to see ingredient and nutritional information on food products and even for possible side effects of prescription drugs (think of all those pages of tiny disclaimer type on the ads) Why should genetically modified foods be different?
But Proposition 37, the California Right to Know GMO labeling initiative was defeated in November, even though preliminary polls showed that 90 percent of all people, regardless of their political affiliation,m were in favor of labeling.
We know that chemical giants and their cronies spent $46 million on a deceitful advertising blitz to defeat the landmark proposition. But you might be surprised that among those cronies were some of your favorite national brands because these companies are now owned by huge multinational corporations. The Organic Consumers Association is calling for boycotts of the products from what they call "traitor brands":
♦ Naked Juice, Tostito's Organic and Tropicana Organic (owned by PepsiCo/donated $2.5M)
♦ Boca Burgers, Back to Nature (owned by Kraft/donated $2M)
♦ Safeway's "O" Organics (member of Grocery Manufacturers Association, which donated
$2M)
♦ Honest Tea, Odwalla (owned by Coca-Cola/donated $1.7M)
♦ Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm, Larabar (ownded by General Mills/donated 1.2M)
♦ Orville Redebacher's Organic, Hunt's Organic, Lightlife, Alexia (owned by Con-
Agra/donated $1.2M)
♦ Kashi, Bear Naked, Morningstar Farms, Gardenburger (owned by Kellogg's/donated $791K)
♦ Ben & Jerry's (owned by Unilever/donated $467K)
♦ Horizon, Silk, White Wave (owned by Dean Foods/donated $245K)
To see a comprehensive guide of all the brands that helped defeat Prop. 37, go to www.organicconsumders.org/articles/article_26638.cfm. The list is surprising, to say the least. (Did you know that Clorox now owns Burt's Bees?) Keep up to date on who owns what at www.cornucopia.org/who-owns-organic.
Toxic gene found in GM crops
The European Food Safety Authority reports that a virus gene that would be poisonous to humans was missed when GM food crops were assess for safety. Independent experts recently discovered that 54 of the 86 genetically modified plans approved for commercial growing and food production in the U.S. contain the viral gene. Genes are inserted into plants once they're mature, but the new research makes it clear this is not the case. A review of the findings in Independent Science News said, "This situation represents a complete and catastrophic system failure."
Did you know?
GMO proponents often say that genetically modified crops will greatly reduce the need for additional chemicals. Not so. According to a 16-year review of chemical use in conjunction with GMOs done by Washington State University, herbicide use has increased by 527 million pounds.
