Denounced: Corporate GMO Disinformation Campaign on California’s Prop 37

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Groups Launch National Initiative to Help Americans Take Action on Genetically Engineered Foods (GMOs)

A new coalition, focused on the right to know whether or not foods are genetically engineered, today denounced the millions of dollars poured into anti-Prop 37 efforts by major corporations. The corporate campaign, financed by agribusiness, food and chemical giants such as Monsanto, Dupont, Dow, Coca Cola and Kellogg’s, was designed to misinform and deceive the public about the cost of labeling foods containing GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms).

GMO plum pox resistant fruit
These transgenic plums called C5 contain a gene that is intended to make them highly resistant to plum pox virus. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

“Corporations may have misled voters in California about GMOs, but they can’t change the fact that over 90 percent of Americans support the labeling of foods with genetically engineered ingredients,” said Alisa Gravitz, CEO of Green America. “The GMO Inside campaign will make it possible for all Americans to find GMOs in the food products in their homes and communities, label them, and switch to non-GMO foods instead. The campaign will show corporations that people will not complacently serve as lab rats for the testing of genetically engineered foods.”

“We are disappointed but not deterred by this defeat,” said John W. Roulac, CEO and founder of Nutiva-world’s leading organic superfood brand. “GMO Inside was created to catapult the energy from the fight for Prop 37 to the next level. Our goal is to bring greater awareness to consumers nationwide about the dangers of GMOs and educate on what they can do to make a change.”

The GMO Inside campaign launched today on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, and is signing up supporters at www.GMOinside.org. GMO Inside steering committee members include Food Democracy Now!, Green America, Institute for Responsible Technology, Foodbabe, Nature’s Path and Nutiva.

The GMO Inside campaign will provide Americans with actions they can take in their homes, grocery stores, and communities to call attention to genetically engineered foods. It will provide tools and resources for Americans to find the genetically modified ingredients in a wide-range of products and brands on grocery shelves, and give people organic and non-modified alternatives. It will also create communities of people who are concerned about genetically modified foods and who will support each others’ efforts to label foods and avoid products containing them.

About genetically modified foods

According to the Non GMO Project, genetically modified organisms are plants or animals created through the process of genetic engineering. This experimental technology forces DNA from one species into a different species. The resulting foods are unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional breeding.

Almost all commercial genetically modified crops are engineered to withstand direct application of herbicide and/or to produce an insecticide. Despite biotech industry promises, none of the genetically modified traits currently on the market offer increased yield, drought tolerance, enhanced nutrition, or any other consumer benefit. Meanwhile, a growing body of evidence connects them with health problems, environmental damage and violation of farmers’ and consumers’ rights.

GMO Inside believes that all U.S. citizens have the right to know what is in the food they eat. Genetically engineered foods have not been adequately tested for human consumption. It is unethical put an experimental technology into the food Americans feed their families without providing information on the label that allows Americans to choose whether or not their food contains genetically modified indgredients. Americans deserve to know.

Nearly 50 countries require labels on GMOs, including Australia, Japan, China, Russia and all of the countries in the European Union. Many of these countries also have restrictions or bans on genetically modified food production or sale. GMO Inside believes we deserve the same level of protection and information as citizens in other nations around the world. That’s why they are launching this campaign.

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