THATS THE BEST STRATEGY FOR SHOPPERS WHO WANT TO AVOID GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
May 3, 2000 / The Toronto Star / Stuart Laidlaw
According to this story, the next time you're buying sweet corn or potatoes or any other fresh produce, try something different. Buy the stuff with worms; it's a good way, the story says, to make sure you're not buying genetically modified food. But if youre looking for a less protein-enhanced method, read on. What follows is a rough guide to avoiding genetically modified foods, if you are inclined to do so. It isn't easy. The stuff isn't marked, and perhaps never will be, despite talks between Ottawa and the food industry on voluntary labelling. You have to read between the lines of existing labelling and learn how to decipher an ingredient list.
Randy Wittacker, manager of the Ontario Natural Foods Co-operative, was quoted as saying the lists can get pretty long and that he is frustrated that it isn't easy for grocery shoppers to sort out the genetically modified foods from the rest. "The consumer shouldn't be stuck with that problem. They've been stuck trying to figure out what the hell to do."
The story says that while pesticides left consumers worrying about chemical residues on their food, genetic modification has them wondering what agricultural mutants might be in their dinner.
The story also says that genetic modification differs from traditional plant breeding methods in one key way: it crosses the once unpenetrable species barrier, allowing scientists to cross plant genes with animals.
The story says corn and potato plants are crossed with a type of soil bacteria in order to make the plants toxic to pests, while canola and soy plants are crossed with another bacteria to make them resistant to herbicides.
The easiest way to avoid genetically modified food is to buy organic.
Virtually all organic guidelines, whether Canadian, American or the much cited California organic laws, all say basically the same thing: There can be no genetically modified crops in organic food. Other organic no-nos include pesticides and chemical additives. Sounds simple, sure, but nothing in life is ever so. Just ask the folks at The Big Carrot Natural Food Market, 348 Danforth Ave., Torontos biggest single health food store.
They plan to make their house brands completely free of genetically modified products by the end of the year. About 2 per cent of the stores shelf space is taken up by house brands. Julie Daniluk, the stores registered nutritional consultant, was cited as saying retailers have a responsibility to their customers to sell the best food they can and at The Big Carrot, that means organic foods free of genetic modification, adding, "When they walk in the front door, they shouldn't have to read every package."
But be warned, the story says, anybody in Canada can call anything organic, as long as at least one ingredient is organic. But calling something certified organic, well, thats another matter. To get nitpicky about it - and you must be nitpicky to stay away from genetically modified foods - only certified organic products meet Canadian government standards on what makes food organic. To make matters more confusing, there are some 90 North American organizations authorized to certify products as organic, and none of them are household names.
For the average shopper, a seal of approval from the Organic Crop Producers & Processors or the Organic Crop Improvement Association is largely meaningless unless you are familiar with the group.
But it doesn't stop there. The certifying bodies are quick to say they are not guaranteeing that the contents of any package are organic, just that they believe the companies involved did all they could to make sure it is organic. The products themselves are not tested. And then there is the ingredients list. If going organic isn't an option, for whatever reason, you had better learn to decode an ingredient list if you want to avoid genetically modified foods.
Despite all the talk about fish genes in tomatoes or scorpions crossed with berries, there are relatively few types of genetically modified crops on the market right now - just corn, soybeans, canola and potaotes - but those ingredients find their way into most of the foods on grocery store shelves.
Also, be warned: When it comes to ingredient lists, corn is not always corn and soy is not always soy.
Because ingredient lists need only include the products used to make the food, and not the crops used to make the ingredients, corn is often listed as anything from ascorbic acid to zein, and soy comes across as such things as lecithin and vegetable protein. Ingredients are listed in the order of their percentage presence in the final product. In other words, the more there is of something in a product, the higher up on the list it appears. Its up to you what to do about it.
Wittacker of the Ontario Natural Foods Co-operative was cited as saying he hoped consumers will reject foods containing any derivative of a genetically modified crop, adding, "If enough consumers take that position, whats a farmer going to grow?"
Alan McHughen, a grains researcher at the University of Saskatchewan and author of the soon-to-be-released A Consumers Guide To Genetically Modified Foods (Oxford University Press), was cited as saying U.S. government studies show organic foods have higher levels of biological contaminations, adding, "I prefer to consume small amounts of regulated and approved pesticides in conventional foods than unknown quantities of natural toxins, manure, bacteria, fungi, and whatever else."
(posted without permission)
