ge labelling

[Hopperbin]

http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/reports/1413/genetically-engineered-food-labeling-laws-map

Is it correct that these countries label ge foods?

[hobbyfrmr]

Denmark and Germany for sure that I am aware of. The european citizens I visit with in the lounge after the days events are staunch defenders of GMO labelling. It is not always because of food safety issues, it is because of their human right to know what is in their food they are buying. Its kind of a lack of trust in government (all governments of all stripes and colors) and/ or their purposeful excercising of their rights as citizens and consumers.
This is where Virtex the non GMO canola crush plant in Saskatoon can be successful. There are billions of folks populating the countries on that map. A few of them may be asking for non gmo canola oil.
You can spray... And fertilize clearfield canola .ju.

[ColevilleH2S]

GMO is not an ingredient, it's a breeding technique. And if any breeding should be of concern and labeled, it's mutagenic breeding.
Tell that to a hippy and wait for the blank stare and silence. Muta what?

[freewheat]

When something is labeled, a perception is given that something is different about it. in the case of canola, the gene is a protein, and therefore is not in the oil, as the oil is 0% protein. So gm or non gm, there is NO DIFFERENCE!

So the answer, is that it is wrong to label. If you put a label on canola oil saying this product may contain gm ingredients, the clueless consumers are not only being lied to, but they are led to believe something is somehow not good about the product.

The dishonesty about it all is what is so aggravating.

[grassfarmer]

Here is a comprehensive article on who does and doesn't label and the market reaction to that.

http://www.agbioforum.org/v10n1/v10n1a06-gruere.htm

[blackpowder]

Perhaps we should label. Everything on there like cigarettes. Might be the only way to play the game.
Also I think we have a ways to go in our PR campaigns in North America. Like UKs red tractor.

[pourfarmer]

Why do you think a label necessarily implies its bad? I have a label on my truck that says fire extinguisher inside, does that mean people think my truck will catch on fire?

[freewheat]

If a consumer sees may contain traces of nuts, and they are allergic to nuts, they will not touch it with a ten foot pole.

If a consumer sees, may contain gmo ingredients, with the lies and the press and the quacks like Dr. Oz out there fibbing to the public, they are going to shy away.

Does canola oil contain gmo material? Why label something that has none?

[hobbyfrmr]

There is plenty of market for labelled non GMO food, so mandatory labelling in Canada is a non issue unless the citizens want to exercise their right to know what they are buying. At this time a nutritional analysis labels and ingredient list is good enough for the majority of Canadians.

[pourfarmer]

I understand about the canola oil argument, I'm not going to fight you on that one.

I don't watch Dr oz, Oprah, or anything really and I still shy away from GE products. I've done my own research like many young people do these days, being that we have all this knowledge at our finger tips. You act like your customer is a naive child who doesn't know what is good for them, but in reality all they want to know is how their food is grown. Why not tell them? There is no fear implied by a label, the fear comes from those pushing back against the label, leaving the "stupid consumer" to wonder: why are they fighting this?

[charliep]

I am not suggesting the consumer should not have the right to choose what goes in their mouth. I often wonder the benefit of regulatory based mandatory labeling and market based.

Would there be a benefit to have a monster label that indicates food is produced from crops that are grown using conventional agricultural production methods as a regulatory requirement or the current where you label organic production/market it as a benefit in branded sense?

Perhaps the biggest challenge is to actually get consumers to read nutritional labels and use this information in their eating decisions.

[freewheat]

Pour farmer, here is the deal. Consumers, while not "stupid", do have very little clue about how their food is produced. Many blogs fight back. The thing is though, sensationalism and "doctors", are more emotional and eye catching to consumers than actual farmers telling their story.

Ever put a genie back in the bottle? It is hard to fight back when the anti gm people play to the emotions of the consumer, no matter how hard we try.

Consumers are not stupid, they are simply so far removed from farming that they believe any wing nut out there these days who has written a book or two, or been on Oprah. You think Ellen or Oprah would have someone like me on their show to clear things up? Not bloody likely!

That is what we are up against, and why we are losing the battle. People with influence twisting the truth and outright lying about gmo crops....

Consumers are not dumb. They are just latching onto the wrong infoprmation.

[sumdumguy]

Free wheat, consumers just want "the" information so they can make their own choice. What's wrong with that? Have you ever bought a car and asked where it was made? I have. Does it matter? To me it might. The consumer is always right whether or not you think his decisions are based on misinformation. That where the rubber hits the road.

[grassfarmer]

freewheat I see where you are coming from but there are also some very well informed consumers who are both more knowledgable and more articulate than the majority of farmers. We ignore that reality at our peril by making broad statements about the consumer being far removed from the food production theatre.

I'm all for promoting my products to consumers because that's the way I run my operation selling direct to them - but for you "commodity" guys on here selling grains or oilseeds as a bulk, unprocessed product why should you be the ones going on Oprah to explain why GE is good? - what about the Monsanto reps or the food companies like Kraft explaining why gmo content in their pre cooked meals is good not bad?

I think they have a hell of a lot more responsibility than the farmer growing the base commodity and thus far they are ducking it completely and allowing you to fight their battle for them. They are using your good reputation as farmers to sell their products to the consumer.

[charliep]

Swore I would never post a link to food navigator again but here is what Chipotle is doing. You can dig further on their website and find lots more discussion on this topic.

[URL="http://chipotle.com/ingredient-statement?format=aspx"]">Chipotle[/URL]

grassfarmer - The line between conventional agriculture and the things you do is becoming a lot blurred as you get big food players like McDonalds pushing for specific consumer friendly attributes including non-gmo, sustainably produced, animal welfare, hormone free, etc.