Make GE Labels the Law!
GE Foods: Untested, Unlabeled
and Potentially Unsafe
Genetically engineered (GE) foods are untested, unlabeled, and potentially unsafe. A majority of processed foods include GE ingredients, which have not been tested for long-term impacts on human health and environmental safety. What’s more, the Food and Drug Administration does no independent safety testing and instead relies on data submitted by biotechnology companies. And, because foods containing GE ingredients aren’t required to be labeled, consumers don’t even know when they are eating them.
Why Aren’t GE Foods Labeled, and Why Should They Be?
The biotechnology industry spent over half a billion dollars in lobbying and campaign contributions between 1999 and 2009 to ensure that regulatory oversight of GE foods remain watered down, GE foods remain unlabeled, and consumers are kept in the dark.
GE foods can pose risks to consumers from potential allergens and toxins, but those are not currently disclosed to consumers. But just as labels list fat, sodium and sugar, they should tell the buyer whether or not the product includes potentially harmful GE ingredients.
Polls show that a vast majority of consumers want food containing GE ingredients to be labeled, but most large food companies will continue to ignore consumers’ demands that GE foods be labeled until they are held accountable by law.
We all deserve the right to know what’s in our food and to decide whether or not to consume or purchase GE foods.
National
To ensure all consumers have the right to decide whether or not to purchase GE ingredients, the federal government should require labeling of GE foods. Food & Water Watch is working towards building support for federal legislation. Take Action – Sign our petition to make GE labels federal law.
Statewide
Food & Water Watch is working with our allies to advance statewide measures for mandatory GE labeling in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
Hear from our organizers working on the ground to win GE labels across the United States