tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4541703279082624205.post405371843053893300..comments2024-03-04T05:51:28.885-08:00Comments on Applied Mythology: GMO Labeling And The China ScenarioSteve Savagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04408822620071396633noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4541703279082624205.post-62799557234872407772012-04-26T20:10:43.548-07:002012-04-26T20:10:43.548-07:00When it comes to GMO crops, Dow and Monsanto (and ...When it comes to GMO crops, Dow and Monsanto (and DuPont and Syngenta and Bayer and BASF) are not the companies that sell food. They sell products to farmers who sell to grain handlers who sell to ingredient companies who sell to food manufacturers who sell to retailers who sell to people. <br /><br />No one has hid anything. What GMO crops are has been public since the early 1990s. As I said in this post (if you read it) was that tracking this in the commodity business would be expensive and dumb. <br /><br />OK, you have decided to buy into the conspiracy thinking on this whole issue. That is fine. You can buy Organic. You might want to question the proportion of Organic that now comes from places like China, but if you are more willing to trust that source than an EPA/FDA/USDA regulated food source, that is your choice. I wonder whether your "due diligence" included sources outside of your chosen "echo chamber" of information?Steve Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04408822620071396633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4541703279082624205.post-32779789950982476572012-04-26T18:39:14.403-07:002012-04-26T18:39:14.403-07:00If GMOs were not harmful, why the push to NOT labe...If GMOs were not harmful, why the push to NOT label GMO products? <br />If members of the BIG AGRI-BUSINESS business industry (like yourself) had integrity and had nothing to hide, why NOT label GMO products?<br />If Dow and Monsanto want to convince consumers that their GMO foods are healthy and will cause no ill effects if ingested, then why not boldly and proudly label all their GMO food products?<br /><br />Frankly, the more consumers become aware of the perpetuated lies and distortions told by Agri-business, and their complicit scientists, consultants, etc., the more successful organic foods become and the more popular organic farmer's markets become.<br /><br />To ensure my family and I never, ever eat any GMO products (because we've done our due diligence well on this topic), we ONLY purchase organic. This way we are assured of safe quality foods, and we are not gullible guinea pigs of Big Agri-business!Artemis Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4541703279082624205.post-24644256872224077072012-04-26T15:42:44.487-07:002012-04-26T15:42:44.487-07:00Ken,
Are the Organic soybeans being imported from...Ken,<br /><br />Are the Organic soybeans being imported from China for human consumption directly or for ingredients? I suspect the former. What I'm talking about are dry grains and ingredients that end up in Organic processed foods. It is difficult to get statistics on the scale of these vs domestic Organic supplies. It would be interesting to get an estimate of all the Organic wheat-based products sold in the US and see what percent of that could be supplied from the Organic wheat acreage here.<br /><br />NOP has talked about some random testing, I'm not sure if it has happened. You are right that all imported organic must meet NOP standards, but those standards are mainly a document trail and an inspection by someone who is paid based on the sale of approved products. In other situations that is called a conflict of interest. I don't think there is much cheating in the US, but I am far from alone is wondering if such a system works in certain other cultural settings.<br /><br />On your "fastest growing" argument, that is what we have heard for Organic for >30 years. It is a statistically misleading statement. Even a high percent growth from a tiny base is still tiny. <br /><br />Europe does buy some non-GMO crops from the new world, but they also have a food system that sources many of their ingredients differently (they get starch from potatoes, not corn, oil from rapeseed not soy...)<br /><br />I'm glad you recognize the need for practical thresholds. I agree that GMO labeling would increase the market for non-GMO, but that would raise costs. I'll stand by my prediction that ex-US sourcing would be commonSteve Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04408822620071396633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4541703279082624205.post-40363747747344309242012-04-26T12:14:22.563-07:002012-04-26T12:14:22.563-07:00This article is a "what if" scenario bas...This article is a "what if" scenario based on incorrect or incomplete assumptions. Yes, organic food companies import some organic products from China, mostly soybeans, but the majority of organic crops and ingredients are still sourced from the US. Yes, organic certification of products from China has been suspect but the USDA's National Organic Program has increasingly been cracking down on violations of the organic rules including on imported products. All imported organic products must be certified to the NOP standards. The NOP is also starting to require that organic certifiers test organic products for pesticide residues. The article doesn't mention that there is already a good amount of production of non-GMO, identity preserved soybeans and corn in the US and this would likely increase significantly if mandatory GM food labeling became law. This is what happened in Europe; food manufacturers there buy non-GMO ingredients for their products in order to avoid a GM label. (Europe does buy GM soy for animal feed because the GM food labeling laws don't cover meat and dairy products from animals raised on GM feed). Even Monsanto has been developing non-GMO “Sovera” soybeans for food use. The new "sub-market" for non-GMO products is already here. The Non-GMO Project is verifying the non-GMO status of foods, and there are more than 300 companies and brands and some 5000 products being verified. Non-GMO is the fastest growing segment of the natural food industry with sales now topping $1 billion per year. There is no "zero tolerance" in the Non-GMO Project standard or any other non-GMO standard that I'm aware of. Producers and grain buyers know that zero GMO tolerance for corn and soy is impossible, so GMO thresholds for non-GMO grains are set anywhere from 0.1 to 0.9%, which is the EU threshold for labeling. So, I beg to differ with the author. I think that GM food labeling in the US would increase the demand for non-GMO grains and ingredients and that production of identity preserved, non-GMO grains in the US would increase significantly to meet the demand.Ken Roseboronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4541703279082624205.post-34023682302922616462012-04-26T10:50:50.826-07:002012-04-26T10:50:50.826-07:00Anonymous -
One might think that there would be mo...Anonymous -<br />One might think that there would be monitoring, but there isn't much. I've been concerned about fruit juice concentrates for some time since the market has now been dominated by China. There could easily be pesticide residues not approved in the US. I found someone at the USDA who had some knowledge of this sector and they said there really wasn't any official inspections and it is the food company's responsibility. However, the way that bulk commodity markets work it isn't so clear who should be checking whenSteve Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04408822620071396633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4541703279082624205.post-14326366822394636292012-04-26T08:44:34.197-07:002012-04-26T08:44:34.197-07:00In reference to the mycotoxin section, I would hav...In reference to the mycotoxin section, I would have expected any foods entering the United States or Canada to be screened for such things at the border, much as domestic food quality is monitored within the borders. Is this not the case?<br />Thanks for the post - that's a lot of interesting information.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com