FOOD LABELLING: Necessity vs Marketing

When I was first diagnosed with Celiacs' Disease fifteen years ago, "gluten-free" labelling was not a thing. I was constantly reading the ingredients on the package. Gluten does not just mean wheat and barley; I also have to check for dextrin, MSG, Hydrolized Vegetable Protein (HVP), Hydrolized Plant Protein (HPP), and malt. So I was very happy when most companies began labelling their products. It made my shopping trips much faster when I can clearly see "Gluten Free" on the package. However, I am not impressed with the "Non-GMO Project" who use labelling to create fear of GMOs and to mislead consumers with marketing.

The Non-GMO project's mission is to stop producers from growing GMO products so by creating a fear of GMOs, people will buy products with the label of the Non-GMO Project. Now if you have researched GMOs and are still truly afraid of them and wish to buy these more expensive products (who pay the Project for the label) go right ahead but first please let me tell you three things.

First, there are very few GMO products. True GMO (which I will explain later) products include corn, soybeans, sugar beets, cotton, papaya, squash, and canola. So unless the product you are buying includes these items, everything else is non GMO. There is NO GMO wheat grown commercially anywhere in the world. So buying bread with the Non-GMO Project label is like paying more for water because it has a non-GMO sticker! In my local Co-op, a loaf of Wonder white bread with the "Non-GMO Project" label on it is $3.98 . I compared that thick white sliced bread to D'Italiano without the label, but still non GMO. It was $1.30 less. There is no GMO rice so don't be fooled into paying more for your rice because of the Non-GMO label. There are no GMO oats nor quinoa so don't pay more!

Secondly, GMOs have been studied and anaylzed for over 60 years. A simple google search of scholarly articles about GMOs brings up over 100 peer-related scientific studies. Testing is done routinely.

Snell et al (2012) examinded 12 long-term studies (up to 2 years in duration)

and 12 multigenerational studies on the effects of diets containing GM maize,

potato, & soybean on animal health. Many parameters have been examined

using biochemical analyses, histological examination of specific organs, hema-

tology and the detection of transgenic DNA. Results from all 24 studies do not

suggest any health hazards and there were no statistically significant differences

with parameters observed. (Bawa & Anilakumar)

GMOs are safe but poorly understood by the public.

GMO is simply using technology to advance breeding of plants. Often confused with GMOs are cross-breeding, hybrids, and mutagenesis. In 1866 Gregor Mendell, an Austrian monk, bred 2 different varieties of peas and cross-breeding began. Hybrids are produced when specific pollen from one variety are introduced into another. Hybrid corn was first produced in 1922. Scientists planted 2 pure varieties in a field alternating rows. They covered the tassels of one variety so that the only pollen released in the field came from one variety. The "hybrids" produced higher yields and stronger plants. "They had discovered hybrid-vigour." (Rienhardt & Ganzel) A hybrid cannot breed so hybrid seed cannot be resown. But NO seed company forces us farmers to buy new seeds. We buy new seeds to take advantage of hybrid vigour and for new genetics. Mutagenesis is creating new crops by exposing seeds to radiation or irradiation. Mutation happens naturally in plants over time from ultraviolet light. Mutagenesis speeds up the process. This type of breeding is used mostly by the organic community.

True GMO uses transgenics, cisgenics, and gene silencing, which have developed because of computer technology allowing scientists to sequence genomes and isolate specific genes that cause beneficial changes. One of the first commercial GMO products was insulin created by using recombinant DNA in 1982. A human gene was inserted into the genetic material of a common bacterium and the DNA was changed. "No more chopped up pork & beef pancreases, E.coli and yeast cells." (Campbell) Insulin became less expensive thanks to GMO.

In 1995 scientists created a canola that was resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. This means we can spray glyphoste on canola, kill all the weeds, but not the canola! This means no more spraying of trifluralin on the soil, no more tilling the field every week before seeding & burning up a lot of fossil fuel and drying out the top soil. Zero-till was now available! GMO canola has truly helped the environment.

My third point about GMOs is that transgenics has meant that certain farmers don't have to spray insecticides. Worms that ate the insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) would die. "Scientists took a protein out of Bt and inserted that protein into corn, soybeans, cotton, eggplants, and squash. Human stomachs use acid to break down the Bt protein so it is no harm to us." (Saik) Now the worms can't eat those crops and farmers don't have to spray insecticides, which kill not only worms, but honeybees as well. Less chemicals are being used due to GMOs which is good for our environment.

My frustration with the Non-GMO Project is that it causes fear in people who assume GMOs must be bad without ever realizing the science behind them. Anti-GMO organizations have created so much fear in politicians that in countries like Uganda & Kenya they have banned desperately needed seeds. The staple crops there are cassava and banana. However these crops are being devestated by diseases such as Brown Streak Mosaic virus and Black sigatoka respectively. So scientists created a brown-streak resistant cassava. Sadly farmers aren't allowed to grow it, instead they experience less yield of cassava.

Another example is "Golden Rice" which has been fortified with vitamin A to help prevent blindness. The World Health Organization estimates that 250 million children from Vitamin A Deficiency & 2.7 million die from VAD. Greenpeace has fought the Golden Rice Project since it was developed in 1999. In 2016, 5591 scientists published a letter against Greenpeace's objections. The Golden Rice Humanitarian Board is now established in Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and South Africa. (med.nyu.edu) Why do activists such as the Non-GMO Project fight science that helps people?

So while labelling food is extremely important, do not buy into the marketing scheme of the Non-GMO Project. They are making money by labelling a product such as Couscous, which is 100% durum wheat, as Non-GMO. This is true, it is non GMO, but all Couscous is non-GMO so you don't need to buy the product with the label. Remember ALL wheat is non-GMO! Don't pay more for a label.

Works Cited

Bawa, A.S. and Anilakumar, K.R. "Genetically Modified Foods: safety, risks, and public concerns: A Review," J Food Science Dec.19 2012 doi:10.1007/s13197-012-0899-1 Accessed Aug.25, 2020

Borrell, James, "All our Food is Genetically Modified in some way- where do you draw the Line?" Cornell Alliance for Science, March 16, 2018 allianceforscience.cornell.edu Accessed Aug.25, 2020

Campbell, Hank "40 Years Ago Insulin was Controversial also," American Council on Science and Health, Aug.29, 2017 Accessed Aug.27, 2020

NYU.Med "Genetically Modified Organisms: The "Golden Rice" Debate" med.nyu.edu Accessed Aug.27 2020

Reinhardt & Ganzel, The Ganzel Group, 2003 livinghistoryfarm.org Accessed Aug.25, 2020

Saik, Robert, "Food 5.0 How We Feed the Future" Lioncrest Publishing 2019

U.S.FAA "Science and History of GMOs and Other Food Modification Processes," fda.gov Accessed Aug.27, 2020