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 Candidate Support Expected to Boost Non-GMO Brands

(January 21, 2008- Los Angeles, CA)  According to leading health management resource, the Institute for Responsible Technology www.responsibletechnology.org
consumers have no idea they are consuming flawed, genetically modified foods, and that is unfair. In late November, after reviewing the latest data about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), also known as “biotech foods”, all leading democratic presidential candidates agreed to fast track the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. Non-GMO brands are expected to benefit.   

“Now consumers will have the information they need to make non-GMO buying choices,” explains Jeffrey Smith, executive director of the Institute and Director of the Campaign for Healthier Eating in America. “We believe that we can change consumer buying habits if we reach consumers directly at point-of-purchase with a non-GMO brand shopping guide.” The Campaign for Healthier Eating in America, launched  late last year, plans to provide convenient purse-sized non-GMO brand buying guides in-store, to nonprofit groups and online. In addition to product tips, the guide lists key company phone numbers consumers can call to request they switch back to non-GMO ingredients.  “American consumers are an important part of the solution,” says Smith.

Candace Pert, PhD, author and former Chief of the Section, National Institutes of Health  says, “I applaud the Campaign’s efforts to inform American consumers  about healthier non-GMO brand choices, and I am heartened to hear the candidates are taking the labeling of ‘biotech foods’ seriously. Because of the mounting evidence against GMOs, I consistently recommend a non-GMO diet.”  

Smith, the world’s best-selling author on the health risks of GMOs, says, “A writer for a leading food magazine recently asked the question, ‘A gene’s a gene. What could go wrong?’ The answer is: Plenty. In fact, the process of inserting a foreign gene into a plant cell and cloning that cell into a GM crop produces hundreds or thousands of mutations throughout the DNA. Natural plant genes may be deleted or permanently turned on or off, and hundreds can change their function. This type of collateral damage is why GM soy has less protein, an unexpected new allergen, and up to seven times higher levels of a known soy allergen.”  According to Smith, this GM soy example is only one of thousands of possible biotech food flaws that negatively affect consumer health today.  To learn about GMOs go to www.responsibletechnology.org.

The Institute for Responsible Technology serves as the premier meeting ground for the leaders of America's non-GMO community. Since its founding in 2003, it has sponsored groundbreaking research, fought for public policies that support GMO eradication, safety and testing, and created unparalleled resources so staff, boards, and consumers of every age can improve their health management.
The Institute for Responsible Technology fulfills its mission by:

• Serving as the voice of non-GMO education to the media, trade organizations, government, business, consumers and international bodies.
• Convening opportunities for non-GMO leaders to work together on key issues.
• Promoting policies that enable grassroots community members to engage with public officials on a nonpartisan basis.
• Supporting the development and dissemination of strategies to strengthen non-GMO volunteering, voting, giving, and other forms of citizen engagement.
  

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