How much do you know about the food you eat? Consumers are starting to open their eyes and taking a stand on the blinds the FDA (U.S Food and Drug Administration) and companies like Nestle, Bertoli, General Mills, and Pepperidge Farms try to pull on us.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are present in the vast majority of processed foods found in most stores around the country. The Grocery Manufacturers Association estimates that between 75% and 80% of all processed foods available on grocery store shelves contain GMOs.

Recently there have been so many cases in the United States cracking down on the amount of GMOs that goes into our food, fish markets selling “fake fish” in New York City and even the most recent case of 15-year-old Sarah Kavanagh who started a petition against PepsiCo against the drink Gatorade.

The New York Times reported that Ms. Kavanagh, a dedicated vegetarian, read the label while drinking Gatorade and one peculiar ingredient caught her eye; vegetable oil. This pushed her to do further research and then she decided to start a petition on Change.org that has almost 200,000 signatures already. Her campaign is a way to persuade companies like PepsiCo to consider changing the drink’s formulation.

Brominated vegetable oil contains bromine, an element contained in things like upholstered furniture and children’s products. Research has found that a build-up of this element in both human and animals can cause “neurological impairment, reduced fertility, changes in thyroid hormones and puberty at an earlier age.”

Despite this, brominated vegetable oil has been deemed safe for consumption by federal regulators, says The New York Times.

Up to 10% of drinks sold in the United States contain brominated vegetable oil, including Mountain Dew, Powerade, Fanta Orange, Squirt and Sunkist Peach Soda.

“B.V.O. is banned other places in the world, so these companies already have a replacement for it,” Ms. Kavanagh told The New York Times. “I don’t see why they don’t just make the switch.” To that, companies say the switch would be too costly.

Currently in the United States, companies are not required to tell you if there are GMOs in the food they sell. Food companies can basically put whatever they chose to in your food. As long as it is “said” to be safe, they will use it without your knowledge.

Toonari Post contacted Nature Valley, a product of General Mills, by email and phone to ask why they use GMOs but claims on their website and Facebook page, “No matter how many flavors we create, they’re all made like the first, from wholesome, delicious ingredients. That way you can be assured that with Nature Valley you’re always getting The Taste Nature Intended.”

Amy Sadowski, Consumer Services representative for Nature Valley responded by email, ” For that reason, the FDA does not require special labeling for it. Because of the growing use of biotechnology by farmers and the way that grain gets commingled in storage and shipment, it′s certainly possible that some of our products may contain ingredients that have been improved through biotechnology. We can assure you, though, that every major regulatory agency, as well as independent scientific groups like the American Medical Association, has concluded that these ingredients are safe. General Mills also believes in providing consumers with a variety of food options. Toward that end, we do offer organic products that, by definition, do not use ingredients that have been improved through biotechnology. Please look for organic Gold Medal flour and a wide range of products from our Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen brands.”

So how can you protect yourself from food with GMOs and false organic labeling claims?

Avoiding corn and soy products that are not explicitly labeled as 100% Organic is a good first step in avoiding GMOs. According to the USDA Organic Program standards, organic foods cannot contain any genetically modified organisms. However, a company can still market a product as being made from organic ingredients while using some GMOs. If it is not labeled as being 100% organic, then it is likely to only contain a mixture of organic and non-organic agricultural ingredients.

You can also log on to Facebook and like the Label It Yourself page to see what foods to avoid.

In the end, there is no certifiable, authoritative, or inclusive list of foods that absolutely contain GMOs. The best thing to do is read before you eat, make the choice to shop at a local “mom and pop” organic health food store or shop at your local farmer’s market to play it safe.

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Come November, California voters will have the chance to decide whether to require labels to appear on food made with genetically modified ingredients.

Back in November of last year, the Committee For The Right to Know teamed with others to submit the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, which states that the purpose of this measure is “create and enforce the fundamental right of the people of California to be fully informed about whether the food they purchase and eat is genetically engineered and not misbranded as natural so that they can choose for themselves whether to purchase and eat such foods.”

The food label initiative needed 504,760, signatures which is equivalent to five percent of the total number of votes cast for governor in the November 2012 gubernatorial election, for a valid petition to qualify for the ballot. According to the Associated Press, supporters collected more than the half  million signatures needed for stronger labeling requirements.

According to a news release, Debra Bowen, California Secretary of State, on Monday certified the labeling of genetically engineered foods as the eighth measure to appear on the November 6, General Election ballot. The other seven measures on the ballot are a water bond measure, a political contribution measure, an auto insurance measure, a measure to repeal the State Senate District maps, a measure to repeal the death penalty, a measure to increase the crime penalties for human trafficking and a measure to revise the three strikes law.

If this passes come November, California will become the first state requiring labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms. This will required that by 2014, processed foods must be labeled to alert shoppers the product has ingredients from plants whose DNA has been altered with, which will include most raw or processed foods made from plants and animals with engineered genetic materials. Certified organic foods would be exempted from the labels as well as meat and dairy products where the animals are fed with genetically engineered grains.

Organic farmers believe they will benefit from informing consumers. “Consumers have a fundamental right to know what is in their food and make choices, so I think everyone should be working toward this,” said Albert Straus, president of the Straus Family Creamery, a popular organic dairy in Petaluma, reports the Associated Press.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that the genetically modified food shows no more health risk but is considering a petition to label genetically engineered food nationwide.

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On Tuesday, January 24 at 1:30 PM , Monsanto officers and shareholders will vote on a shareholder proposal to create a study of “material financial risks or operational impacts” associated with its chemical products and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The proposal represents one of the strongest signals to date that the biotech food conglomerate is facing growing consumer, legal, and regulatory uncertainties. As of today, however, Monsanto has told John Harrington that they will not recognize his proxy who would speak on behalf of the resolution for only three minutes under normal circumstances.

The meeting itself is only open to shareholders but concerned citizens will be demonstrating outside the northeast entrance to Monsanto’s Lindberg campus beginning at 12:00 noon. Monsanto Headquarters is located at 800 North Lindberg Boulevard in St. Louis, MO.

Adam Eidinger, an organic food activist who recently led a walk from NY to Washington DC on behalf of honest food-labeling, will present the shareholder resolution on behalf of Napa, California based Harrington Investments (HII) with help from the Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA).

Eidinger will be available for interview before and after the shareholder meeting, to which he will drive a “Label GMO” art car to attend. Representatives from HII and PANNA will be available also for interview before and after the shareholder meeting. Eidinger’s written testimony is available by request.

In its statement recommending shareholders to vote against the HII resolution, Monsanto management stated that, “Farmers should have the freedom to choose which production method is best suited for their needs, whether organic, non-GM conventional or biotechnology traits. All of these systems can and do work effectively side by side…”

John Harrington, CEO of Harrington Investments questions the veracity of Monsanto’s statement: “While I am heartened by Monsanto’s sudden concern for the freedom of farmers, the unfortunate reality facing American farmers right now is that genetic drift from GMO crops is contaminating their conventional and organic crops.

This can be disastrous because many GMO crops cannot be sold to important markets, such as Europe, China and Japan. The potential legal implications for Monsanto are staggering.”

Eidinger, who organized last October’s 100-person, 313-mile “Right2Know March” from New York City to the White House for federally mandated GMO food-labeling says: “With the rise of Round-Up resistant ‘superweeds’ the company is simply telling farmers to spray even more toxic herbicides including 2,4 D, the main ingredient in Agent Orange.

Many people are struggling to avoid GMOs and chemicals used on them in the food they eat due to serious health and environmental concerns yet Americans have no right to know what we are eating largely due to the close ties Monsanto has to President Obama’s USDA and FDA which has ignored more than 500,000 Americans who have signed on to the JustLabelIt.org petition to the FDA.”

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