I live in Washington State, and soon we will have the opportunity for vote for a potentially historic initiative: I-522. If this initiative passes, foods in Washington state will have to indicate if they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Washington could be paving the way for other states to pass similar laws, so even if you don’t live in Washington, the future results could be far reaching. We usually don’t delve into political issues on this site, but as I keep hearing ads and reading articles in the newspaper, I thought this potentially would be a good thing to share since we talk a lot about food, mainly in the form of whole food recipes. I may be wrong. We’ll see.
I was one of the more than 350,000 people who originally signed the petition to get the initiative added to the ballot. At that point I had no doubt that I would vote yes to label our foods. Then I heard and started to consider some arguments against supporting the initiative.
- It would DRASTICALLY raise food prices.
- It would put many local organic farmers (the ones we are trying to support) out of business because of the incurred costs to them.
- Organic food is already GMO free, so there is already a labeling standard set in place.
Well, I don’t want my food prices to increase dramatically, I don’t want to put poor organic farmers out of business, and if there is labeling in place, why would we want to do more?
Then I thought about it some more and studied a few more things that addressed my concerns and helped me make a final decision. I learned:
- 64 other countries already label foods which include GMOs, and have undergone the process without noticing increased food prices (The Herald and Yes on I-522). The supporters say it won’t cost a dime which makes it sound like it’s free, but the estimation is that food prices would rise by $0.08 per Washington State resident per year. Also, when the government started requiring nutritional information labels, groceries didn’t see price increases (The Herald).
- One of our local organic farms (here in Snohomish County) is supporting this initiative: the Klesicks Family Farm. Farmer Tristan Klesick said in the October 20, 2013 issue of The Herald, “To me it’s not an issue of whether it will cost me more money. It’s about being truthful.”
- Yes, organic foods are already non-GMO, and that is good to know, but I don’t buy everything organic. Most people don’t buy 100% organic. It would sure be nice to know if the item I am considering buying includes GMOs or not. I would feel better about buying the non-organic, non GMO item, but at this point there is no way to know if a product includes GMOs. As a quick aside, all Trader Joe’s name brands are made with non-GMO food. Learn the first step to getting a Trader Joe’s in your area here.
After listening to different sides of the debate, I’ve decided to vote yes on I-522. Here are some additional reasons as to why I made that decision:
- People should have full access to the knowledge of what goes in their body whether they choose to access this information or not.
- The health of your body is directly affected by what is placed inside of it whether we feel it now or way later in the future, and yes we don’t know completely how GMOs affect our bodies, but since their introduction into our food supply, the rate of chronic diseases and disorders like allergies have increased. For instance, according to the Institute of Responsible Technology, soy allergies increased by 50% quickly after introducing GMO soy in the UK. Read more here from Dr. Mercola about cancer rates in lab rats who consumed GMOs and other medical consequences.
- Consumer’s Union (the unbiased policy arm of Consumer Reports) is supporting this initiative as our right to know (Yes on I-522).
- I believe this a the necessary first step in getting the truth-in-labeling ball rolling.
I do still have a few questions. Corporations are spending millions of dollars to defeat this. If big companies such as Kelloggs, Coca Cola, PepsiCo Inc., Nestle, General Mills, ConAgra, The Hershey Co. and others are investing many dollars into defeating this issue, why would they do this if they claim it will make our grocery bill increase? Is the money these companies are putting into defeating the initiative also driving up food prices now, too? Would it be cheaper for them to just put the money into the label change instead of putting money into attempting to defeat the initiative, or are they hiding something? Afraid they are going to lose profits?
Interestingly, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a lawsuit against the Grocery Manufacturers Association, who collected cash donations in a way that hid the identities of donors who opposed the initiative so they wouldn’t face retaliation.
Exempt from being labeled are milk, eggs, meat, dairy cows, beef cows, chickens, alcohol, restaurant food, and “medical food.” Under this law you could still eat a chicken fed with GMO feed. The animals themselves aren’t genetically modified, so their products wouldn’t be labeled either. So it’s far from perfectly-written, but – as I said above – I believe voting “yes” is a step in the right direction.
Well, what do you think? If you live in Washington state like us, we would love to hear how you are going to vote and why. If you don’t live in Washington, we’d still love to hear from you.
Have you read about the potential dangers of glyphosates in “RoundUp Unready.”
I’m from CA and we went through this last year. I absolutely voted YES! Early polls showed that a large majority planned to vote FOR the initiative, but we had the same companies running the same ads. So the measure failed in the end. I hope Washingtonians will be wiser than Californians were! Do I wish the measures were more far-reaching? Yes! But until a state breaks through with GMO labling for some things, no one will ever break through for labeling for ALL things.
Hi Susan. I wish I could say WA passed it, but it didn’t pass :(. Our early polls showed it would pass, too (in the 60 percent realm). I think a lot of people get scared of food prices rising, or the gov’t having more control or getting more money to then mishandle. Also some argued that the initiative was poorly written, and need it written “correctly” before voting yes. So the percentage of voters who ended up voting “yes”-looks like 49% at the time of me writing this response, does not actually represent ALL who want labeling. I say we have to start somewhere. Hopefully a state will break through soon, and we will have better written labels. Thank you for sharing!
Hi: I am attaching a link that helps to explain one of the many lies used by the chemical corps that don’t want you to know how they poison you daily through the ‘food’ you eat. Voting YES is important. It lets the world know that you are not going to accept being an unwitting lab rat any longer. If GMOs are truly a good thing, the chemical corps would be proud to proclaim so on a label. Instead, they, and the manufacturers who use GMOs know there is something toxic to you and that needs to be kept hidden from you. I truly hope that there are more people in the state who will not fall for the lies of the chemical corps and will vote YES. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtJJ1muz-s4&feature=youtu.be
Thanks for sharing, Debbie. Great points!! I look forward to watching the video!
I’m voting no. Until they get it all right the first time, they are not getting my vote. The animal feed is the most important thing! Dummies. I just think it’s a stupidly written bill. Why do we need to get the government involved in this anyway–people need to demand it from the private companies. No more new taxes for something that is just going to cause more problems and drive up our bills.
Hi Ann, The animal feed is really important I know! This is very frustrating. I see this initiative as a stepping stone, and it’s got to start somewhere. Thank you for visiting and sharing.
I am SO glad to see that another blogger from Washington has brought this up! I haven’t had the time to do one and now I don’t feel so bad. I will be sharing your post on my blog and facebook 🙂
Hi Emily. Yes, I thought I really should write something on it. Thanks for sharing! Blessings!
Hi Sonja, I totally agree voting Yes is a step in the right direction. My mother in law was scared by the scare tactics used in many of the campaigns where a lot of money was funded out of mid west states like Iowa. It took a lot of explaining to her it’s baby steps and once the bill is place it will be easier to modify as we go! Have a great week my friend!
Hi Serena. I know what you are saying. I started to doubt my signing the petition, and then really thought about it before making the decision. I hope people don’t overreact to the negative ads! Have a great week, too!
Hi Sonja,
Annie Chun’s soft Chinese noodles are stamped USDA organic but their 2nd ingredient down is modified tapioca starch. I bought them one time because I figured, being organic, it would be safe for my delicate intestinal tract, due to the fact that I had a bout of diverticulitis about 7 years ago and I’ve always got to read labels and be careful. WRONG! The modified tapioca starch wreaked havoc on my lower tract that day. But everyone knows that the USDA organic seal is nothing more than a rubber stamp. When you have former attorneys of multinational agribusiness companies heading federal agencies, that spells trouble. It’s the fox guarding the hen house. Another aside, Kirkland Signature hot dogs (which aren’t organic but that’s not the issue here) they claim to be all beef but the 2nd ingredient down the list is maltodextrin. Do you know what other product has maltodextrin in it? Benefiber: a laxative! It is 100% pure maltodextrin. So Costco is using maltodextrin as a filler (and a major filler in this product). When can I trust Costco and food manufacturers that the the food they sell is truly organic, even though it is stamped saying so? The only organic seal I trust now is Oregon Tilth. Never had trouble with anything marked with that seal.
Best,
Susan Rio Rancho, NM
Hi Susan, Thanks for the tip about the Oregon Tilth. I have heard that they are more thorough and trustworthy. I am sorry about your personal health issues and how the wrong food has negatively affected you. Gotcha about the agribusiness folks heading the federal agencies-trouble! Thank you for sharing! Sonja
Lusaigh, modified starch does not mean that the ingredient is GMO. So adding an organic modified starch in your organic food is perfectly legal. Read this on wikipedia: Modified starch, also called starch derivatives, are prepared by physically, enzymatically, or chemically treating native starch, thereby changing the properties of the starch.[1] Modified starches are used in practically all starch applications, such as in food products as a thickening agent, stabilizer or emulsifier; in pharmaceuticals as a disintegrant; as binder in coated paper. They are also used in many other applications.[2] Starches are modified to enhance their performance in different applications. Starches may be modified to increase their stability against excessive heat, acid, shear, time, cooling, or freezing; to change their texture; to decrease or increase their viscosity; to lengthen or shorten gelatinization time; or to increase their visco-stability.
In the EU we do not have GMO food. However, we do have modified starch, for instance wheat starch that has been made gluten free. I agree with you,
sorry, pressed the wrong key….
I agree with you, a modified starch can create problems. For instance I’m gluten intolerant and I cannot have gluten free modified wheat starch.
I hope this may help to clarify the issue.
Thanks for sharing, Mrs. G! Good to know!
Thank you Sonja. I was going to vote YES, but started to wonder about the details. We do have right to know what we put in our bodies. Why would any company want to prevent that? What are they trying to hide? Or they care little about the consumer and just want to make huge profits. I’m not sure I trust the companies that are against TRUTH in labeling. I am voting YES on I-522.
Hi Dawnell! You are welcome. It really is so confusing when you hear all of the attack ads and the like. Thank YOU for sharing!