Do YOU know what you are eating?
March 29, 2010CHOICE, Australia’s leading consumer advocacy group has released a report that says supermarkets and food labels leave grocery buyers in the dark.
Supermarket aisles are full of foods with genetically modified ingredients that are not stated on labels, making it almost impossible to avoid GM processing.
“When consumers see ‘vegetable oil’ on a label they have no way of knowing if it is GM canola or cottonseed oil”. says CHOICE Senior campaigner Clare Hughes.
In addition, many of Australia’s meat, egg and dairy products could come from animals fed GM feed, yet this does not need to be mentioned on the label.
Under Australian GM labeling laws, consumers are supposed to see which products contain genetically modified ingredients. However, a loophole in the system is that GM products do not have to be labeled as GM.
Miss Hughes says, “you have a right to know if your food comes from GM crops, or GM fed animals, directly or indirectly.”
Scientific evidence suggests that these foods are harmless, however CHOICE argue that a lack of evidence of harm is not enough to prove that GM foods are one hundred per cent safe either.
Further, much of the research conducted is by the companies who produce GM crops, keeping their findings confidential from proper academic inquiry.
Miss Hughes argues that the connected environmental and ethical issues give more reason for full disclosure of GM ingredients to consumers.
Currently, Australian food labeling laws are being reviewed. CHOICE encourages consumers to demand better labels on GM foods in order to “have all the information they need to make a truly informed choice.”
