{"id":538,"date":"2015-03-15T16:48:30","date_gmt":"2015-03-15T16:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/15\/just-label-it-seriously-the-consumer-should-be\/"},"modified":"2016-01-30T05:37:48","modified_gmt":"2016-01-30T05:37:48","slug":"just-label-it-seriously-the-consumer-should-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/15\/just-label-it-seriously-the-consumer-should-be\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-538 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/15\/just-label-it-seriously-the-consumer-should-be\/attachment\/539\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tumblr_nl9iouUHoF1tunfp4o1_1280-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tumblr_nl9iouUHoF1tunfp4o1_1280-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tumblr_nl9iouUHoF1tunfp4o1_1280-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Just label it! \u00a0Seriously, the consumer should be empowered to mediate!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/p>\n<p>Can genetically modified crops grow in harmony with their non-GMO counterparts?<\/p>\n<p>The debate between the pro-biotech and non-GMO camps increasingly looks more like scorched earth than common ground. Biotech seed makers like Monsanto Co. and Syngenta AG, along with farmer groups, argue that genetically modified crops are critical to feed a growing global population. Organic food companies and consumer groups charge that GMO crops promote a chemical-heavy approach to farming that\u2019s harsh on land and animals and could contribute to human-health problems.<\/p>\n<h2>Anti-GMO, Biotech Factions Clash at Food Summit &#8211; is it for our benefit?<\/h2>\n<p>The increasingly polarized debate prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture to convene Thursday a two-day summit on \u201cagricultural coexistence\u201d that seeks to mend some farmland fence-posts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe one thing I am really tired of is division,\u201d said Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, at the event at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. \u201cThis is about finding a path forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But finding that path appeared difficult, with some speakers on both sides of the issue offering few signs of compromise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrganic is the future of American agriculture,\u201d said Errol Schweizer, executive global grocery coordinator for Whole Foods Market Inc. Organic crops are grown without GMO seeds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not going to feed the world with organic foods,\u201d said Dan Glickman, executive director of the Aspen Institute, a public policy think tank in Washington, and a former U.S. secretary of agriculture.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/38.media.tumblr.com\/4d8a871e8a83011ec7b156d54df16de9\/tumblr_inline_nl9ioevfZ41sae1js.jpg\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>One thing both factions agree on: The discord costs money. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent advocating for and against state ballot initiatives and legislation requiring labels for foods made with GMOs.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, organic farmers spend thousands of dollars creating buffer zones in their fields to guard against the spread of neighbors\u2019 GMO crop pollen and related pesticides, and setting up systems to ensure harvested grain doesn\u2019t mix with GMO varieties, said Laura Batcha, chief executive of the Organic Trade Association, speaking at the event.<\/p>\n<p>Biotech-crop advocates worry the debate over labeling and continued questions over the crops\u2019 safety is slowing scientific advancements and new products that could help farmers raise hardier crops and produce more food, Mr. Glickman said. The Food and Drug Administration and many U.S. health and science groups say food made with the ingredients is safe.<\/p>\n<p>Some farmers at the event said they took the intensified scrutiny of biotech crops personally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor retailers to talk about one production system over another as being the gold standard disparages the production system I use, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s conducive to having a conversation about coexistence,\u201d said Ron Moore, who grows soybeans, corn and alfalfa near Roseville, Ill., and serves as secretary of the American Soybean Association.<\/p>\n<p>Farmers of all sorts need to acknowledge that \u201ca significant percentage of our community wants to know whether or not they\u2019re eating GMOs,\u201d said Lynn Clarkson, president of Clarkson Grain Co., a Cerro Gordo, Ill., company that specializes in marketing non-biotech crops.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Clarkson suggested labeling all foods that do not contain genetically engineered ingredients under a federal standard, though others in the non-GMO camp continued to argue for a federal rule requiring labels for food containing GMOs.<\/p>\n<p>Some non-GMO farmers and food makers already feel they bear a greater economic burden than their biotech-using counterparts, however. Some farmers adjust their planting to help ensure non-GMO crop fields remain free of biotech plants, Ms. Batcha said, and Whole Foods\u2019 Mr. Schweizer said his company had struggled to find enough crops to make organic products for its shelves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI actually am importing heirloom corn from Mexico,\u201d Mr. Schweizer said. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One place USDA officials sought common ground Thursday: the lunch menu. Attendees could choose from GMO-derived selections \u2013 grilled chicken breast, corn salsa and roasted sugar beets \u2013 as well as an organic menu including free-range chicken, wild rice pilaf and salad. The competing menu choices were served at separate tables.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just label it! \u00a0Seriously, the consumer should be empowered to mediate! \u00a0&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; Can genetically modified crops grow in harmony with their non-GMO counterparts? The debate between the pro-biotech and non-GMO camps increasingly looks more like scorched earth than common ground. Biotech seed makers like Monsanto Co. and Syngenta AG, along with farmer [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[52],"class_list":["post-538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-gmo-lable","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":540,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions\/540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}