Why Is The USDA Getting Involved In A 15th Method Of Food Labeling?

(This post originally appeared on Forbes, 5/28/15)
A couple of weeks ago I was deeply disappointed to read that the USDA might get involved in an aspect of “non-GMO food labeling.”  The marketing of non-GMO food is an opportunistic, fear-based phenomenon – not something worthy of aid from a science-oriented agency like USDA.  Also, if the goal is to allow consumers “know more about their food,” then why not transmit knowledge with context and perspective that would diminish, rather than promote, superstition? Printing was state-of-the-art in 1435.  We can do better in the 21^st century!

Superstition?

It may seem extreme for me to declare that the fear of GMO foods is a superstition, but consider the history of this phenomenon.  For two decades, the opponents of crop genetic engineering have promoted the idea that transgenics, a particular means of genetic modification, is something sinister and frightening.  Their arguments are typically accompanied by emotive images such as hypodermic needles full of colored liquids protruding from ripe fruits and vegetables.  Such images bear absolutely no connection to the actual process of plant genetic engineering.

Examples of what crops looked like before humans began the process of genetically modifying them
(From Genetic Literacy Project)

These websites don’t communicate the fact that virtually all crops have been “genetically modified” in many ways for centuries and that transgenics have been the most carefully introduced and independently tested of all.

Although all of the major scientific bodies around the world have affirmed the safety of “GMO crops,” the fear-based messaging has worked. This has created an up-selling opportunity in the food industry, and that kind of marketing is well served by the two word message, “non-GMO.”  The seller can tap in on all the emotive, doubt-sowing efforts to date without any potential confusion that would be created by knowing the full story.  It’s effectively a “right to not know.”

Wikipedia example of a scan code

In an era of scan codes and smart devices, a curious consumer could have all the resources they need in an interactive, multi-media form.  They could ask: “What are the ingredients in this food?”  “Where has it been sourced and why?”  “What is known about the safety of the ingredients and the food as a whole?”  “What does the nutrition labeling information on the back mean?”  “What kind of farms and farmers were involved in the production of this food?”  “Why do farmers choose to use certain agricultural technologies?”  Consumers could “know” a great deal.

A Suggested Role For USDA

The drawback with this is that as with all information available today, it is very hard for the consumer to sort out what is true.  Here is where a public agency with extensive expertise in the practice and science of agriculture could play an appropriate role.  They could be an independent “third party” that could vet the information offered via 21^st century methods.  To do so would require more resources for the USDA because their workers are already engaged in other important work.  As consumers, we would be better served by a modest increase in USDA funding via our taxes than by spending billions on “GMO-free” food marketed based on superstition. If you have not heard it in a while listen to Stevie Wonder’s classic song, “Superstition” , particularly the repeated lyric:

“When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer... superstition ain’t the way.”

Now imagine the lyric,

"When you're afraid of things you don't understand, and you pay more... superstition ain't the way."

Wikipedia image of Stevie Wonder from 1973 - Lyric slightly modified

You are welcome to comment here and/or to email me at savage.sd@gmail.com

My Comments To The USDA On Agricultural Coexistence

Today I submitted a comment on the official USDA regulatory forum on the question of coexistence in agriculture.  Here is a link for background from a workshop on this topic held in North Carolina this March.  Here is a link of you want to comment (>4500 people have so far and the comment period is open until May 11, 2015).

The point I hoped to make was that coexistence between different kinds of farming is something people have known how to do for a very long time, but it requires a certain level of reasonableness and cooperative spirit.  That is rarely a problem when you are talking about real farmers and if there are rational standards for "adventitious presence."  The issues to do with coexistence today arise from downstream players making unreasonable demands and by those which are not, by their own statements, interested in coexistence.  The USDA seems to be trying hard to make this an open dialog, but there are aspects of this debate that need to be recognized for what they are.

Text Of The Comment I Submitted 4/28/15

While the coexistence of diverse commodity and identity preserved crops is a long-standing, successful feature of American agriculture, some aspects of the current coexistence discussion warrant careful consideration.  Particularly for row crops, the definition of acceptable “adventitious presence” is critical in any identity preservation effort.  That threshold drives the costs of isolation and segregation protocols as well as the level of risk for the producer.  The threshold of adventitious presence should logically be driven by objective issues of functionality in the intended use and/or by levels that are practical in the real world.  That sort of system has long enabled coexistence in farming.

The current problems for co-existence arise in what many participants in the North Carolina workshop described as "sensitive markets."  Principally this means products intended for "non-GMO" and/or organic markets.  Unfortunately, a significant proportion of those markets have been established at the consumer end through fear-based marketing and advocacy.  For these IP segments there is no "reasonable level of adventitious presence," because the categories were never based on any reason-based functionality or safety criterion.  Perhaps "fear-based marketing" sounds like a harsh term, but if you look at examples of promotional campaigns generated by very large, for-profit, organic and non-GMO food companies, it’s hard to come up with a friendlier sounding descriptor:

1. This recent video produced by Organic Only, a consortium of organic marketers including may of the largest ones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypF15z3euwM

2. Several productions from the large, non-GMO promoting fast food chain, Chipotle:

http://farmedanddangerous.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUtnas5ScSE

3. This humorous, but not fair 2005 production from the Organic Trade Association: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVrIyEu6h_E

Coexistence requires, by definition, some level of fair play and mutual respect from the parties involved.  The corn and soybean growing neighbors who are trying to make a living in commodity and IP markets may have that sort of working relationship, but the demands coming down to them from "sensitive markets" are often driven by rather successful, fear-for-profit business models.   These downstream drivers are certainly not on the "coexistence" page at all – in fact exactly the opposite.  Some explicitly state that their goal is the elimination of biotech crops via the agency of GMO or non-GMO labeling and its effects on markets.  As is usually the case, the farmers have virtually no leverage in these exchanges.  With this enormous gulf in terms of power and intention, the prospects for rational co-existence are not encouraging.

There are certainly players in the organic and gmo-free segments that could be reasonable participants in a coexistence discussion, but their voices do not represent or apparently influence other important players.  It would be irresponsible to fail to explicitly acknowledge this “elephant in the room.”