Activists raise red flags on looser GM labeling
Protests against the use of GMOs in farming have taken place in several Brazilian states
The approval by the Chamber of Deputies of a bill relaxing labeling requirements for genetically modified (GM) foods has raised concerns among civil society organizations. According to these organizations, the new rule violates people's choice regarding GM products.
Under the proposal, packaging for products with GM ingredients will no longer be required to show the transgenic warning symbol – a black T in a yellow triangle. The symbol will be replaced with the wording, “Contains transgenic ingredients”. Moreover, only products with more than 1% GM content will be required to indicate this to consumers.
According to Ana Paula Bortoletto, PhD, Nutrition and Public Health, and a researcher at the Brazilian Institute for Consumers' Rights (IDEC), removing the GM symbol hurts the consumers' right to have clear, accurate information on the products available on the market.
Transgenic warning symbol
The bill sponsor, Federal Deputy Luis Carlos Heinze, noted that the warning will not be completely removed – only the “T” symbol will no longer be shown. According to him, the sign scares off consumers, who associate it with such hazard symbols as those for poisonous and flammable products, for example. He maintains GMO products are safe. “Foods approved for human consumption are tested by CTNBio [the National Technical Biosafety Commission], a board of representatives from nine ministries, [including] experts and PhDs in animal, human, plant and environmental health. So I believe the products are safe,” he said.
But for Bortoletto, what the bill does in practice is virtually de-label GM products. “They [advocates of the bill that relaxes labeling rules] argue that products found to contain GMOs in lab tests will still have to be labeled as such. [But GMO content] can only be detected in the DNA, the genetic material of the GM food. And the fact is, hardly any processed food will contain their whole DNA so they could be tested [for GMOs]. This means it's not always possible to prove that the final product contains GMOs,” she pointed out.
The chairwoman of the National Food Safety Board (CONSEA), Maria Emília Pacheco, says GM labeling allows easier traceability of GM foods, so the approved bill is a setback. “Consumers have the right to know whether a certain product contains DNA from other species. This notion that GMOs boost productivity, reduce pesticides, and help reduce global hunger is misleading, because this technology [genetic modification] was approved, and [still] hunger remains a massive global problem, impacting 800 million people. Market forces and the [GM] technology are not going to solve the problem. Brazil has walked out of the hunger map thanks to a higher minimum wage and income distribution programs,” she argued.
According to CTNBio, there are 39 types of GM plants approved for commercial use in Brazil. Deputy Heinze's bill is now in the Senate for discussion by the Social Issues Committee and the Committee on Environment, Consumer Protection and Regulatory Controls. The Science and Technology Committee also wants to be heard.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Activists raise red flags on looser GM labeling
