On Tuesday, March 27, history was made when over 1 million people submitted a petition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to label GMOs. After only 180 days, the Just Label It campaign was successful in spearheading the issue.
Support extends beyond the public sector, too. Earlier this month, a bicameral, bipartisan letter signed by 55 members of Congress was sent to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg calling on the agency to require the labeling of GE food. Furthermore, state governments like California, Vermont, Hawaii, and Connecticut are making serious movements to introduce labeling bills.
Ken Roseboro, journalist for The Organic & Non-GMO Report magazine, explains the implications of the snowballing support in an interview with Organic Connections. “All of these are indications that more and more people are becoming aware of this issue, demanding the right to know and wanting non-GMO products. They want to avoid GMOs because of the risks to human health and the environment.
“When surveys are done of just regular consumers about whether such foods should be labeled, there’s always an overwhelming majority—80 to 90 percent—who say yes. That is something that everybody can agree on. Now we just have to get the FDA to do it.”
Read more in Organic Connections.
