In March of last year, Michael Funk, CEO of United Natural Foods, backed a program designed to require testing and standards requirements from dairy farmers and natural food retailers. The goal was for farmers and retailers to qualify for certification of organic products as “GM Free”.
Genetically engineered crops like corn and soybeans have become so widely circulated throughout the United States ecosystem, the integrity of organic purity is in question.
“Now there is a real shortage of organic grain for animal husbandry and dairy operations,” said Organic Consumers Association national director Ronnie Cummins. “People are having to be real careful.”
According to Greenpeace International, contamination of conventional crops like corn, soybeans, cotton and canola, by biotech crops has been reported around the world. “There were 39 cases of crop contamination in 23 countries in 2007, and more than 200 in 57 countries over the last 10 years”
Five years ago, Professor Denis Murphy from the biotechnology unit at the University of Glamorgan in Wales warned: “We have recently observed that many soya products now carry ‘GM free’ or ‘organic’ labels, both of which imply an absence of GM ingredients in these foods. However, most of the soya now produced in the world comes from GM varieties…Given that GM soya production is set to increase even more over the coming years, it is difficult to see how ‘GM free’ labels can be justified unless there is much more rigorous testing of such foods.”
It’s virtually impossible for biotech crops and conventional crops not to be commingled during harvest, or during storage and shipment, and cross-pollination.
GM corn is the biggest threat to suppliers seeking to ensure consumers with biotech-free food. According to the U.S.D.A., in 2007 73 percent of the 92 million acres of U.S. corn planted were genetically modified. If organic dairy farmers feed their livestock corn, how do they know the corn is GM free? You can forget about the USDA — while they have national standards for foods labeled “organic”, they completely exclude biotech contamination as a criteria for “Organic”.
Two years ago, reports Reuters, Albert Straus, an organic dairy farmer discovered one-third of the corn fed to his dairy herd was GM contaminated.
“I started to test our products to see if there was an issue or not. It turned out there was an issue,” said Straus. “There is so much contamination.”
“Beginning in Fall 2009, writes Adriana Michael with Organic & Wellness News, “a non-profit called the Non-GMO Project plans to have participating products sport a seal to indicate they have been verified GMO-free. Founding sponsors of the project include well-known firms like Whole Foods Market and Nature’s Path. A long list of endorsing organizations is available here”
Also See: Non GMO Shopping Guide
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