Food Politics

My concern would be that the “Organically Grown” circle or a GMO-free banner would also fall under this symbol-reduction.

That’s an interesting question. The “organically grown” symbol falls under the USDA’s jurisdiction, not the FDA’s. Not that it matters; I’m not sure anything other than processed items falls under FDA jurisdiction.

“No GMOs” is another concern. The biotech industry has been trying to disqualify that particular claim for some time now, along with removing the anti-GMO rule from organic restrictions. It’s also difficult for many health food companies because it depends on your ability to separate GMOs form wildtypes, which with soy (popular in processed foods and health foods) is easier said than done.

With all the discussions about food labeling, I am wondering why we don’t shift the discussion from the food processors to the retailers, who have the most direct relationship with customers.

I would think that a progressive grocer willing to do the necessary homework could develop shelf-level labels that their customer could use to move past all the marketing claims and counter-claims. If they do it right, it would be tremendous customer trust and loyalty.

Is anyone hearing about any such efforts?

Rob Smart: The only “progressive” grocer I can think of is the coop or maybe Whole Foods. Some coops are great with signage that explains things in detail, such as just exactly how the eggs are produced or notifying us when a company is bought out by a larger corporation. Whole Foods is more like the supermarket, but the staff are well-informed. What I’d like to see, though, is signs that say: Yeah, these chips are organic, but there are EIGHT servings in this little bag and each serving is nearly 200 calories and that’s only about 15 chips (or less).