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BANG FOR THE BITE
GMO-free and organic produce isn't available everywhere, but this trick helps you know what's what when navigating the veggie aisle.
COCKTAIL FACT
Since some people find produce stickers annoying, distributors are experimenting with dyes that permanently tattoo barcodes on fruit.
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home › tip library › GMO Labels
What's the probability your supermarket plums are genetically modified?
The Bite
Plum dandy (um, pretty high). But we'll help you crunch the numbers: the little stickers on fruits and veggies have digits that let you know whether they're conventionally grown or organic, and if they're genetically modified (GM).The Benefits
- Better odds for your body. GM foods have been in stores only since the 1990s, so we don't know the long-term health risks, and in a 1998 EPA sampling, 29% of the foods tested contained detectable pesticides.
- Less of an eco-gamble. Scientists are concerned that GMOs will reduce biodiversity.
- Winning the taste-bud lottery. Foodies all over the world agree that the range of possible flavors is greater when we just let Mother Nature do her thing.
Personally Speaking
Those stickers used to annoy us because they're not always easy to peel off, but now we have a newfound appreciation for the little buggers.Wanna Try?
Look for the labels stuck on your fruits and veggies:- A four-digit number means it's conventionally grown.
- A five-digit number beginning with 9 means it's organic.
- A five-digit number beginning with 8 means it's GM.
Jan 30,2008
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The Wrath of Buying Grapes
Anyone else feel like shopping for dinner is about as easy as assembling an IKEA filing cabinet blindfolded?
Step one: Remember to bring reusable bags.
Step two: Root out what's produced locally. At Whole Foods, some produce is labeled according to where it's grown, and of course at the farmers market, you can just ask...but I've realized that while I can tell you that Mumbai is on the Western coast of India, or that Iceland is north of Scandinavia and I think they raise sheep there, I frankly have no idea how far away Thermal, CA, is from SF (it's a big state) or whether the dates I want were actually grown or just packaged there.
Step three: Balance map of CA in one hand while keeping cart with errant wheel from careening into a canned pie-filling display and excuse self past person stopped mid-aisle trying to discern between Italian parsley and cilantro while chatting on her cell...
Step four: What was I supposed to buy again?
Step five: Use mnemonic device to recall meaning of numbers on produce labels.
Sheesh. All I can say is that step six, leaving the store knowing (at least approximately) where your food came from and how it was produced, is usually worth the effort.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to drink some grapes of Napa...
Biter Comments...
Does anyone know where I can find some PVC-free vinyl fabric for sewing diapering goods?
Thanks!
Christina, I totally understand where you're coming from. I think there's a lot of reactionary feelings towards things like GMO and irradiating food, likely because of folks' emotional attachment to food and distrust of large corporations. That said, there are many good reasons to distrust genetic engineering of life forms. Particularly because they are rushed on to the market WITHOUT the sufficient testing you mentioned.
They might pose health risks just as medications that aren't thoroughly tested do. However, the greater danger is not in our consumption but what the potential unknown effects when those GMOs are released into nature. History is full of stories of humans bringing animals into environments where they have no natural predators and they run amok. Fast forward to the present: read about Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C.Agandh, a genetically modified seaweed created for aquariums that is now loose in the wild, choking out natural species of seaweed and the creatures that dined on them, and filling up formerly pristine waters in the Mediterranean and Australia.
We can't afford to be cavalier with GMOs. The problem is, because there is high potential for profit, and the push to market GMOs is coming from large corporations for profit reasons, they are going to want to rush through these things to market. Proper research is not going to get done without popular demand and (as a result of popular demand) government intervention.
Anyway, that wasn't even the reason for my coming to post a message here. I wanted to gripe to the Biter team again:
Would you folks please, please start citing your sources!? It doesn't even have to be in the email bite, but if you can include reference material somewhere. You give absolutely zero reasons why I should take your word for anything, and you make claims all the time that you don't back up with facts. It's not that I don't trust your claim about the way fruits are labeled, but it would be nice to have independent verification before I go forwarding this on to everyone (big pet peeve: people forwarding misinformation by email).
Otherwise, keep up the good work!
Colinski, thank you for your thoughtful response. Of course there could be negative repercussions of introducing GMOs, but I don't think that opposition to them should be absolute. The US is particularly bad about not considering the socioeconomic and other impacts of GMOs before releasing them. I too am wary of the Monsantos of the world, but I feel a bit better that there are objective research organizations out there (such as mine) that can act as mediators between the corporations and the very radical green groups. :-)
That was the funniest blog entry ever.
:) Nice job, Jen.
My main objection is the lack of transparency on the issue of genetically modified foods. Shouldn't consumers KNOW what they are eating? Why is it up to the Non-GMO brands to label themselves, or up to consumers to decipher numbers? (Good tip, however, for those who know about it, so thanks!) http://doesabodygood.blogspot.com
If Mother Nature didn't make it, I don't want it.
I'm with Melissa and Michelle (above) on this one!
However I came on here to ask a question.
I am Canadian, yes I am cold right now, yesterday the temperature was reaching record setting levels at -47 degrees Celcius, if that means nothing to you, it is don't-bother-getting-out-of-bed- nor-going-to-work-cause-your-car-doors-are-frozen-not-that-it-matters-cause-the-engine-is-frozen-and-transit-is-almost-halted-as-well...cold!
Moving along, today's (jan.31) comment talked about barcodes on produce. I am wondering if the number codes informing of GMs / organic status etc hold up in Canada?
Your tip gives codes for conventional and organic, but doesn't add anything specific about any additional GMO code. Do you mean for us to assume that all 4-digit labels also indicate the presence of GMO?
Wow this is a great website! I was wondering how in the world do people come up with these things?!?!? I mean do you guys really think that people will realy try this? ( Don't worry I will!!!)But I think that this is the best website! I totaly agree with Christina on this one though...
I forwarded this to a group of people and one person wrote back to let me know that this coding system only applies to conventional and organic, and there is no labeling for GM food. This person is extremely knowledgeable in this area (I'm not), so I would appreciate if you guys could do some research and find out if your info or hers is correct, and then post that information in another tip. She says that this code info was posted on one blog at one point and has been copied and pasted from there, but isn't based on any facts.
She had some other great points, which were:
1. We have no idea at this point what crops are or aren't GM, because the seeds have all been mixed in beyond separation at this point (watch The Future of Food, a great documentary on this).
2. There are 3rd world countries who survive solely on donated GM food, so research is being done to see what the effects are on those people (scary!). And she says it's very difficult to find info on this because it's evidently being suppressed.
So yeah, would love to see a follow up on this one. Thanks!
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Christina | January 30, 2008 at 09:36 AM