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What would it look like to do GMO labeling right? A scannable bar code. This idea has real potential as a compromise. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has been talking about the barcode idea, and Gary Hirschberg, leader of the Just Label It campaign, has said that he could live with this solution. The barcode would allow anyone with a camera on their phone to access a complete document describing the product. That document should include information about all forms of genetic modification, from radiation mutagenesis, gene editing, and cell culture — not just those that fall under the narrow rubric that we’ve arbitrarily chosen to define as GMOs. It should also include information about food-worker wages, land-use conversion, pesticide use, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.
. . . .On Tuesday the Grocery Manufacturers Association announced it was just going to go ahead and do this with its SmartLabel initiative, to give people more information about their food, including GMOs. Rather than fighting against transparency on GMOs, food companies should be fighting to provide much more transparency all around, so that people have the opportunity to see genetic modification in its proper, complex context.
Related on the SLP
When eaters are asked if they are concerned about GMOs in their food, they overwhelmingly say yes. But as they learn more about what GMOs do and what tradeoffs the alternatives require, the numbers begin to shift. If people are allowed to see the pluses and minuses that come with choosing GMOs, they might (finally) be able to make informed decisions.
Read full, original post: Here’s how to do GMO labeling so everyone wins
