1.      New GMO-Free food certification label

An estimated 70 percent of processed foods in the US now contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as ingredients, but until now, consumers have had no way to be certain about GMO content in many conventional packaged foods (Certified organic food products are guaranteed GMO-free).  In an effort to change that, three members of Green America's Green Business Network - Organic Valley, Eden Foods and Nature's Path Organic Foods have joined a dozen other food companies and an International verification firm, the Global ID Group, to launch the Non-GMO Project.  The Project has developed a third-party certification to assure US shoppers that a food product contains no GMOs.

 Since no long term testing has been done to assess the safety of GMOs, and since there is evidence that they may cause harm to humans and the environment, Green American encourages consumers to adhere to the Precautionary Principle and avoid GMOs until they are definitively proven harmless.

 Concerned consumers can find products that have been enrolled in the Non-GMO Product's Product Verification Program online at www.nongmoproject.org/participating-products.  Starting in October 2009, look for the project's "Non-GMO Verified" seals to begin appearing on food products in grocery stores.

Green America, spring 2009, p. 28.