GMO Labelling Intiative Failing in Washington State

[area51drone]

If anyone has heard about this, I-522, an initiative in Washington State that requires genetically modified foods to be labelled, is failing right now after the vote yesterday, something like 55-45.   I am absolutely shocked by this - I really felt like the people in this state, mostly liberal, would be all for knowing what is in their food.   The only reason I can think that would be valid would be because it creates yet another set of government workers to make sure the label laws are being followed.  I think that's bunk - one person could probably do this job, and I'm sure they already have a food labelling office to put them in.    For those of you who don't support it, why wouldn't you?

[UrbanFool]

It failed here in CA too. I think what that means is that our votes don't actually count for shit. (At least in this instance.)

[UrbanFool]

But as I posted before, in retrospect, I'm kind of glad it didn't pass. This government is an insidious virus and I really don't want it near my food. I shop where I'm fairly certain to know what's in my food.

[Usagi]

Monsanto money successfully convinced everyone who didn't already care that it would be pointless and would cause grocery prices to increase.

It's the same nonsense that caused the candy and soda tax to fail a few years ago.  A can of Sam's Choice would have cost 6 cents more in exchange for millions for education and healthcare.  Oh nos!

Lame.  And I live in a relatively sane state.  Relatively indeed.

[PB the Deplorable]

I'd like to know what's in my food too.  I eat very little processed food and want to know what meat, dairy, and produce has been altered - I think we would be shocked to find out how much of it has been.

The bill in California was a lousy piece of legislation.  Whoever wrote it overreached.  Just because a bill has certain provisions in it, or the name on the bill sounds good, doesn't mean it's a good bill overall.

A lot of these propositions are like that.  It's not good way to pass laws - not that the bills coming out of the Congress or the Legislatures aren't full of garbage too, but there is input from more people than just the ones who write the propositions. 

[West of the Rockies]

You may well be correct, PB, about the way the bill was written here in CA.  I also am pretty sure that big-ag dumped major dollars into the effort to defeat the bill.  Like you, I'd love to know what's in my food.  I think that bogus terms like "natural" and "free-range" are extraordinarily vague and uninformative.  (Hey, sorta like George Noory!)

[eddie dean]

But as I posted before, in retrospect, I'm kind of glad it didn't pass. This government is an insidious virus and I really don't want it near my food. I shop where I'm fairly certain to know what's in my food.

Ever hear of:
FDA- Food and Drug Adminstration
USDA - U.S. Department of Agriculture 
FSIS - Food Safety and Inspection Service

I am not saying that GMO labelling is either good or bad, but the above Government agencies are already near your food. It doesn't matter where you shop, unless you buy all your food direct from farmers, or grow it yourself.

[West of the Rockies]

Goddamnit, EddieDean, why do you have to keep injecting fact and reason into the discussion?

[Jackstar]

Don't blame me--I voted against it three times!

[eddie dean]

Goddamnit, EddieDean, why do you have to keep injecting fact and reason into the discussion?

Ha Ha!
It's definitely not a trend for me!!

[UrbanFool]

Ever hear of:
FDA- Food and Drug Adminstration
USDA - U.S. Department of Agriculture
FSIS - Food Safety and Inspection Service

I am not saying that GMO labelling is either good or bad, but the above Government agencies are already near your food. It doesn't matter where you shop, unless you buy all your food direct from farmers, or grow it yourself.

Okay... I don't want any MORE near my food. And as far as I can, I do stick to our local farmer's market, get stuff from friends, and stick to the local organic store. The less-processed foods the better.

[analog kid]

I don't personally believe there's any harm in genetically modified foods. At all. A lot of the fruits and vegetable we eat have been genetically modified since before any of us were born. I'd really need to see solid evidence that there's health ramifications, and that which warrants labeling of foods. Was the wheat strain used to make the flour in the cookie you're eating genetically modified 20 years ago? Is it necessary to label those cookies with that information? If so, pretty much everything you buy could potentially need GMO labeling.

[UrbanFool]

A lot of the fruits and vegetable we eat have been genetically modified since before any of us were born.

That's the koolaid talking. Genetically modified is not the same as selective/cross breeding.

[ziznak]

I thought avoiding GMO's had become or will become practically impossible.  The GMO and heirloom crops have already intermingled right? The genie is out of the bottle? 

I'm making some pizza rolls this site depresses me now.

[UrbanFool]

I thought avoiding GMO's had become or will become practically impossible.  The GMO and heirloom crops have already intermingled right? The genie is out of the bottle? 

I'm making some pizza rolls this site depresses me now.

That's the sad truth.

[analog kid]

That's the koolaid talking. Genetically modified is not the same as selective/cross breeding.

Kool-aid from whom? Lots of perishables, like bananas, have long been genetically modified to resist fungi.

It's like the starving city in Africa who turned away truckloads of rice because it was GM, preferring instead to continue starving over baseless conspiracies about health hazards.

[HorrorRetro]

I'm a conservative WA State resident.  I voted for the measure.  Monsanto, Dupont, and Bayer were major opponents to this.  Dr. Bronner's Soap and Whole Foods were some of the backers.  I fail to see why adding a small blurb on a food item is so controversial.  I would rather know what's in my food and how it was grown than to be ignorant. 

[UrbanFool]

You're correct in that a vast majority of our fruits, vegetables, and grains have been selectively bred for generations, but that is not this "genetic modification", no matter how often you're told that by the people with a vested interest.

[eddie dean]

Okay... I don't want any MORE near my food. And as far as I can, I do stick to our local farmer's market, get stuff from friends, and stick to the local organic store. The less-processed foods the better.

I agree with this.
Processed foods are horrible. Any food that uses bulking agents, preservatives, high salt and artificial flavoring, usually has little, to no nutritional value. 

[eddie dean]

I thought avoiding GMO's had become or will become practically impossible.  The GMO and heirloom crops have already intermingled right? The genie is out of the bottle? 

I'm making some pizza rolls this site depresses me now.

I am with you there Z!
I feel like everthing is upside-down here.
Fucking Jazmunda!

[onan]

I am not sure I understand the complaint here. People want GMO labeling, but the government is bad; so let the free market and the invisible hand take care of the problem.

Look I get it; government with bloated agencies that are slow to act, piss us off. But, whether you care to admit it or not, they do a helluva lot of good.

Everything that went into providing your table food should be easily available, for that to even be an issue tells you how little big food manufacturing cares about you.

[stevesh]

I am not sure I understand the complaint here. People want GMO labeling, but the government is bad; so let the free market and the invisible hand take care of the problem.

Agreed. I bought a store-brand (Meijer) jar of salsa the other day and there was an announcement on the label that said: 'No GMO Ingredients'. That's the way it's supposed to work.

It isn't difficult to keep track of what crops are mostly GMO and avoid processed foods which contain them.

[onan]

Agreed. I bought a store-brand (Meijer) jar of salsa the other day and there was an announcement on the label that said: 'No GMO Ingredients'. That's the way it's supposed to work.

It isn't difficult to keep track of what crops are mostly GMO and avoid processed foods which contain them.

Yeah, I see GMO as this decades "scary microwave radiation" superstition. However with GMO's there are some concerns. To me those concerns are more economic than biological. Physiologically speaking the body can't discern between a peanut that is or is not modified genetically. But the farmer that buys seed from certain companies becomes limited in his ability to choose how best to protect his crop.

And for what ever the reason (mostly hysteria imo) the gov jumps in, rightly or wrongly. People are reluctant to buy foods that state they have GMO. Big business is reluctant. Honestly, I really can see it both ways.

[Jackstar]

The fox is always adamant that there is no need to put locks on the henhouse.

[onan]

The fox is always adamant that there is no need to put locks on the henhouse.

In this case the fox owns the henhouse. But I agree with you.

[area51drone]

Just because something is labelled GMO doesn't mean that I'm going to not buy it.  I just want to know so I can do further research.   It's like saying "calories and nutritional information shouldn't be listed.... you know it's not good for you if it tastes good, and you can always find that information on the internet"   There's no reason not to let us know right up front.   

Also, the argument that manufacturers will label their food as non GMO is partially wrong.  Not every whole food or non GMO company is going to label their products as such because of various reasons - ie there are people who will NOT buy a product if it proudly says No GMO because they don't know WTF that means.


The other thing I would like to see is the source country of the food.  Many foods do it - I think all fresh produce must be listed, at least here bananas are marked "mexico" etc, but there are a lot of processed foods made in China.   If it's Chinese, we throw it out.    Even many frozen vegetables are made in China.   We buy as much American food as we can.   I just think that it's reasonable for consumers to want to be informed about what they're putting in their bodies, and it's reasonable for companies to have to put that basic information down.

[onan]

Just because something is labelled GMO doesn't mean that I'm going to not buy it.  I just want to know so I can do further research.   It's like saying "calories and nutritional information shouldn't be listed.... you know it's not good for you if it tastes good, and you can always find that information on the internet"   There's no reason not to let us know right up front.   

Also, the argument that manufacturers will label their food as non GMO is partially wrong.  Not every whole food or non GMO company is going to label their products as such because of various reasons - ie there are people who will NOT buy a product if it proudly says No GMO because they don't know WTF that means.


The other thing I would like to see is the source country of the food.  Many foods do it - I think all fresh produce must be listed, at least here bananas are marked "mexico" etc, but there are a lot of processed foods made in China.   If it's Chinese, we throw it out.    Even many frozen vegetables are made in China.   We buy as much American food as we can.   I just think that it's reasonable for consumers to want to be informed about what they're putting in their bodies, and it's reasonable for companies to have to put that basic information down.

Agree with everything here.

[area51drone]

Anyone see this article?

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/11/10/schumer-chicken-slaughtered-raised-in-china-could-pose-major-risk/


As if we don't have enough to worry about with our own crappy chicken processing plants.   I think I'm going local organic.   I'm not even happy to hear that chicken is being processed in China let alone grown there.   This is insane.

[PB the Deplorable]

Anyone see this article?

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/11/10/schumer-chicken-slaughtered-raised-in-china-could-pose-major-risk/


As if we don't have enough to worry about with our own crappy chicken processing plants.   I think I'm going local organic.   I'm not even happy to hear that chicken is being processed in China let alone grown there.   This is insane.

China.  The place that gave us poisoned dog food, exploding car tires, fish laying in filth and chemicals before being sent here, ladders that don't support the weight of a person. 

The government that allows the pirating of our intellectual property - software, movies, music.

We already have enough problems with salmonella in the chicken grown and processed here, we don't need more problems with bad chicken from China.

I don't know what our current Administration is thinking.  Is this about the usual - campaign contributions?

[area51drone]

I went "All In" today...


My new chicken coop