The GMO Food Wars
The quote, “The price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance”, has been attributed to many, including Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
A quote often used to support the need for awareness concerning the matters of self-preservation. In modern times, this can be applied quite appropriately to the ongoing war that the embattled retail food industry finds itself as the growing perception of consumer betrayal plays out in the courts of public opinion.
Much like any war, the lines of demarcation have been drawn, loyalties have been split and the enemy has been identified. GMOs are the new enemy.
Do GMOs Really Exist?
The short answer is; yes. GMOs do in fact exist.
What are GMOs?
GMO stands for: Genetically Modified Organism
What is the Definition of GMO?
According to the World Health Organization, [1] “Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination.” – World Health Organization
Using layman’s terms, a GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology.
The Struggle is Real
The fear is that the enemy has been fed to the public. It appears that in the arena of retail food distribution, the public is adopting a “take no prisoners” stance on the subject.
Due to the rise in chronic disease, the public are seeking answers as to whether the cause of their health problems can be traced back to the food purchased from once trusted retail stores. It does present a certain dilemma for the retail food industry in that they are now being held accountable, whether they directly responsible or not.
The bottom line is that a positive public perception of the retail food industry is at risk. What was once perceived as short term damage control by the industry has now become the new norm in how the it interacts with the public.
The Sleeping Giant Awakens
What is most impressive is that the public, long perceived as slumbering in terms of product awareness, has become not only engaged; but pro-active and educated in terms of current retail offerings.
While specialty stores have long been able to boast that they are ahead of the curve in these offerings, mainstream stores are in the unfortunate position of playing “catchers catch can.” The perception of their brand will have a direct impact on their retail sales as the public outrage becomes more galvanized.
The ongoing process of identifying products that are considered “clean” offers the opportunity for much misinformation. As the old saying goes, ”Knowledge is power”; and there are arguments available to bolster each side of this very timely and often volatile debate.
Why are GMO foods produced?
This is where it gets muddled and a challenge to discern fact from fiction.
There are some, such as opponents of GMOs who claim the sole benefit is of a perceived financial gain for the producer or distributor of the foods. GMOs have longer shelf life and therefore do not spoil as quickly, thus making them available to the public for a longer period of time.
Those companies who specialize in GMO seeding such as Monsanto, claim that the purpose of GMO is to [2] ”increase the level of crop protection through the introduction of resistance against plant diseases caused by insects or viruses or through increased tolerance towards herbicides.” - World Health Organization
With these two very different positions it is easy to see how on a purely emotional level the debate can become rapidly heated.
Are GMOs That Prevalent?
According to Prevention Magazine, they are everywhere. [3] “Almost all of the corn, soy, cotton, canola, and sugar beets grown in this country are genetically engineered to either produce a pesticide within the plant or survive being drenched in weed-killing chemicals.” - Prevention Magazine 4/9/2013
Whole Foods, the health food retail giant leading the charge in responsible retail food distribution makes this claim; [4] “nearly all grocery stores in the US sell foods with GMOs. They are pervasive — over 70% of packaged foods in the US contain GMOs. The US government does not require GMO foods to be labeled.”- Whole Foods Website
While Whole Foods has been largely responsible for the shift in offering non-GMO products, they are also being called out by their detractors since they were first of the health-conscious retail outfits to be “outted” for offering GMO products. This brought about the Whole Foods Initiative.
The Whole Foods Initiative
In an effort to promote healthy eating within the retail food industry, Whole Foods made announcement in late 2012 to begin an initiative of labeling products that contain GMOs. Once the public’s perception of GMOs became solidified, the tendency for market competitors to jump on the band wagon spread like a wild fire.
The biggest concern among the detractors is that in order to capitalize on the public’s perception, Whole Foods has done little to promote the truth of biotechnology, but stirred up fear to make regain the public’s trust.
As far back as 2013, The Motley Fool made the claim that Whole Foods may very well be inadvertently spreading fear and not promoting science in an effort to be more responsible to their customer. [5] “…But when it comes to public opinion concerning science, the company's labeling policy is appalling.
It may be unintentional, but Whole Foods Market is fostering mistrust in science without adding any value to the conversation about the potential health risks associated with consuming GMO foods. Caving to consumer emotion -- rather than making evidence-based decisions -- sends a powerful message against science.” The Motley Fool 12/21/2013
The Benefits of The Debate
While the war rages on, it cannot be denied that the Whole Foods Initiative has had an enormous impact with the retail food industry. Regardless of where one stands in this debate, societal shifts, and the grocery giant’s role is seen as game-changing.
The public has become more pro-active, educated and ultimately more influential not only within the specialty markets; but the more traditional stores who are now making the shift towards addressing public awareness and offering non-GMO products.
Sources
[1] World Health Organization.
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/areas_work/food-technology/faq-genetically-modified-food/en/
[2] World Health Organization.
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/areas_work/food-technology/faq-genetically-modified-food/en/
[2] Prevention Magazine
http://www.prevention.com/food/smart-shopping/7-things-you-need-know-about-gmos
[4] Whole Foods
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/faqs-gmos
[5] The Motley Fool