A big victory for the Non-GMO movement is occurring at the Coop! Starting on November 16, the GMO Shelf Labeling Committee will install on-shelf labeling of Non-GMO Project certified products. For those new to the issue: we basically don't know the long term effects of products containing genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) and would like food to be labelled so we can decide whether or not we want to chance eating these ingredients. The US government and the NYS government have so far resisted requests by consumers to force manufacturers to indicate on the label whether or not the product contains GMOs. The European Union established labelling laws in 2004. Australia, Japan, Brazil, and China have mandatory labelling laws as well.
The Food Coop's GMO Shelf Labelling Committee wants to create labels inside the coop, so shoppers can have that information. Beginning November 16th, you will be seeing a 3/8 inch green dot saying "Non GMO" on the shelf label for all products that have been certified as GMO-free by the Non-GMO Project. In addition, the GMO shelf-labeling committee will be putting the Non-GMO Project logo next to the shelf label for these same products where space permits, which should be the case for about 80% of the products. Based on our initial survey, we expect to be labeling about 300 products at the Coop, including grocery products, refrigerated products and frozen products. Labeling will NOT be provided for dairy and fresh
produce items.
Labels will be updated on a bi-weekly basis by the committee to ensure that the labeling is up-to-date and accurate. To perform this work, the GMO Shelf Labelling Committee is looking to add four additional members. If you or someone you know would like to be a part of this effort and join our squad, please contact Greg Todd at gn.todd@verizon.net.
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