April 29, 2016 - Robyn O'Brien

April 29 2016

A New Video Shows Why QR Codes for GMO Labeling Are Useless

Ever heard of a QR code? It’s those weird looking little squares with black and white squiggly lines and no words. You then use an app to scan them into your phone, and they tell you the hidden information that they contain.

A handful of companies think this is a great way to tell you about the ingredients in your food.

Not the most efficient way to get information.

It turns out that a handful of out-of-touch politicians in DC think these are a good idea for labeling GMO ingredients. A good idea for whom? The biotech industry or the chemical companies? The soda companies who still refuse to label GMOs and keep sneaking them into their cans?

I’m not sure when the last time they set foot in a grocery store was, but those pushing this agenda obviously have no idea how 21st century consumers shop.

Have you ever tried to download an app in a grocery store? Or response to something on your phone with little kids in tow? Can you imagine scanning in every single item you placed in your grocery cart, provided that you actually had your phone within reach and actually could get wi-fi reception in the store?

Any suggestion that this is a solution is just another attempt to keep us in the dark about GMO ingredients in our food.

Americans need labels to read when they shop, not apps to download. And if the food industry can spend the money on launching a new app and applying these new QR codes to their products, they can add the simple words “Made with GMOs.”

QR codes are a joke, and this new video from Just Label It does a great job of showing just how difficult it would be for consumers to scan a code every time they pick something up at a store.

Americans need to be able to see, at a glance, whether or not their food contains GMO ingredients. Our own food companies have already labeled GMOs on their products overseas. General Mills, Campbells, ConAgra, Kellogg’s and others are already putting words on their packages here.

So whose interest are these QR codes protecting? It looks like it’s big soda and big biotech.

#dumpthejunk #labelGMOs

April 29 2016

A Bogus GMO Labeling Scheme that America Can Not Afford

Robyn O'Brien Food Politics, GMOs 0

A few months ago, the Senate released the newest version of the DARK Act, a piece of legislation that is anti-consumer, anti-transparency, and anti-labeling. It is a bill that is backed by Monsanto, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and a dwindling number of food companies that are still trying to keep consumers in the dark.

This group, firmly entrenched in the past, has proposed voluntary electronic or QR code for consumers to scan with their smartphones to find out if their food contains genetically-modified ingredients. What’s a “QR code”? Those black and white squares you see on packaging without any words.

There is no way that this is a solution, and several of us flew to DC a few weeks later to meet with Republicans and Democrats to discuss how anti-American this proposed legislation is.

Well, apparently, it’s back.

This “compromise” is a high-tech gimmick to keep Americans in the dark about what’s really in their food. Thankfully, a petition launched to urge the Senate to reject this confusing scheme and require simple, mandatory GMO labels.

Please reach out to your local Senator (link below). Many of them have kids and grandkids, too. Talk about it in a way that resonates with them as parents.

If you’re not sure what an electronic or QR code is, you’re not alone. The processed and junk food lobby knows consumers won’t know how or won’t take the time to scan every label in the grocery store. It is only something identifiable with a smart phone.

And those who don’t own smartphones — especially disadvantaged and marginalized communities, and rural America — won’t have the ability to find out if their food contains GMO ingredients at all.

“With liberty and justice for all” or just those with smart phones?

This is not equal, and we should not stand for it.

This proposal by the the processed and junk food lobby is unacceptable. Campbell’s knows it and recently broke with the industry to demand mandatory GMO labeling for all Americans. Since then, General Mills, ConAgra, Kellogg’s, Mars and others have joined and already labeled their products if they contain GMOs.

So whose interests is the Grocery Manufacturers Association protecting? Certainly not American consumers, when these ingredients are labeled around the world, in China, India, Russia, across Europe, Japan, Australia, the UK, and on and on.

We must ensure the Senate acts in the interest of all Americans who want GMO food labeled. We must ensure that the chemical corporations making these products are held accountable.

Intel is happy to promote their products with the campaign “Intel Inside.” It’s time for the chemical companies to do the same.

If food companies can add a “QR code” square to the package without added costs, they can add the words “made with genetically engineered ingredients.” As a matter of fact, General Mills, Campbells, Kellogg’s, Mars and ConAgra already are.

Sign the petition: Tell the Senate to reject voluntary electronic GMO labeling and require clear, mandatory, on-package GMO labels.

Also use our Congress Lookup tool to directly contact your representatives.