Over 90 percent of Americans have said they want labels on GMO products and yet the House passes a bill to prevent mandatory GMO food labeling . Our battle against GMO will be played out in either a Whole foods or Stop and Shop supermarket. The team will be divided in two groups. One group will go into one of these stores and place labels on products that may be GMO and the other group will hand out samples of a fruit or vegetable on the sidewalk with notes which aim at raising awareness of GMO. The following is information on Whole Foods’ GMO secrets, politicians who have made labeling GMO products illegal and facts on GMO:

Whole Foods and GMO:

1. Whole Foods has knowingly been selling GMO products for years, hiding them under the “natural” label.
2. Two-thirds of Whole Foods products are labeled “natural” instead of certified organic.
3. Whole Foods seeks a “coexistence” with Monsanto, making deals with the USDA for genetically modified alfalfa and commercialized engineered crops.
4. 20-30% of Whole Foods products contains GMOs.
5. GMO products can be found in Whole Foods salad bar, packaged foods, meats, dairy products and some of the Whole Foods branded vitamin line.
6. Whole Foods knowingly trains its employees to say they do not carry any GMO food.
7. Whole Foods has makes an estimated $2-$3 billion a year in sales of GMO products.
8. Whole Foods financially supports Monsanto through the GMO sourcing supply chain, selling all sorts of products made with Monsanto’s GM corn.

Politicians paid to make GMO labeling illegal:

– Representatives Collin Peterson of Minnesota, Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, Mike Conaway of Texas, and Kurt Schradler of Oregon are all cosponsors of the legislation (most of whom also sit on the House of Agricultural Committee). All of these representatives received six-figure dollar amounts from providers of agricultural services and products during the 2014 election cycle. That put them high among the top 20 recipients of funds from the industry.
Cosponsors such as representatives David Valadao of California, Steve Fincher of Tennessee, Devin Nunes of California, and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota are not on the Agricultural Committee but nevertheless received six-figure dollar amounts from the crop production and basic processing industry during the midterm cycle. This landed them among the 20 who received the most from that industry.
Representatives Mike Pompeo of Kansas and G.K Butterfield of North Carolina, two original sponsors of the legislation, were the top two current house members receiving the most money from the Grocery Manufacturers Association in 2014. The grocery Manufacturers-who have spent $4.1 million lobbying on all issues so far, have lobbied on the bill more than any other organization.

GMO Facts:

Most developed nations do not consider GMOs to be safe. In 61 countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sales of GMOs.

In the U.S., the government has approved GMOs based on studies conducted by the same corporations that created them and profit from their sale.

Though a significant majority of Americans want to know if the food they’re purchasing contains GMOs, the biotech lobby has succeeded in making sure labeling is not mandatory.

In the U.S., GMOs are in as much as 80% of conventional processed food.

Over 80% of all GMOs grown worldwide are engineered for herbicide tolerance. As a result, use of toxic herbicides like Roundup has increased 15 times since GMOs were introduced. GMO crops are also responsible for the emergence of “super weeds” and “super bugs:’ which can only be killed with even more toxic poisons like 2,4-D (a major ingredient in Agent Orange). GMOs are a direct extension of chemical agriculture, and are developed and sold by the world’s biggest chemical companies.

Biotechnology companies have been able to obtain patents with which to restrict the use of their GMO sources. As a result, the companies that make GMOs now have the power to sue farmers whose fields are contaminated with GMOs, even when it is the result of inevitable drift from neighboring fields.

Social Relations:

        

Public Opinions on GMO labeling:

 

• 93 % of Americans believe the federal government should require labels on foods saying whether it has been genetically modified.
• 37 % of adults believe eating GM foods is safe.
• 57 % of adults believe eating GM foods is not safe.
• 67 % of adults believe scientists do not have a clear understanding of the health effects of GM crops.
• 28 % of adults say scientists have a clear understanding of this.
• 25 % of adults say they always look to see if products are GM when shopping.
• 25 % of adults say they sometimes look.
• 31 % say they never look for such labels
• 17 % say they do not often look.

 

http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/07/01/chapter-6-public-opinion-about-food/

 

Ways That GMO can affect your health:

 

GMO food products intersect with the 8 most common food allergens: eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat. Gene-spliced  proteins in foods are causing the allergic reactions. Studies have also shown that GMO can lead to infertility, gluten disorders, birth defects, and cancer.

 

http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/GMOs-Health-Foods-Genetic-engineering/2015/02/09/id/622630/

 

Political Relations:

 

Politicians who support GMO but eat organic at home:

 

American politicians including President Obama, former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, former president George W. Bush, and former President and first lady Bill and Hillary Clinton have all backed up GMO and Monsanto. In 2007 President Obama promised to label GMO products in a campaign speech saying “we’ll let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they’re buying”, but has recently signed the Monsanto protection act . However, news sources have reported on the private diets of these politicians which in fact consists of organic foods and products.

 

http://althealthworks.com/3921/doeshillaryeatorganic-obamagmo-clintongmo-bushorganic-eatorganicorgmo/

 

FDA approval of genetically modified salmon:

 

The FDA has approved genetically engineered atlantic salmon, judging it to be safe.

 

http://www.foodpolitics.com/tag/gmgenetically-modified/

 

Politics of GMOs:

 

Various political stories relating GMO to politics.

 

http://gmo-journal.com/category/gmo-in-the-news/politics-of-genetic-modification/

 

The Battle:

 

Drawing on Jordan and Rownak’s idea, I believe the battle should take place at local supermarkets and grocery stores. In order for the battle to have an impact on a personal level we should bring the issue to the people ourselves as they go about their shopping. I also think that if we were to engage it should be during the shopping rush hour ( 5-6 o clock when people are just getting out of work) as to have a bigger audience.