For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Genetic Engineering page and our Millions Against Monsanto page.

Let’s link together two food and environmental issues getting some much needed light shone upon them this October: 1) labeling of genetically modified food — currently mandated in the EU and many other nations, but not in the United States; and, 2) factory farming — behind the 20% rise in global meat consumption over the past decade, and an utter disaster for both animal welfare and the environment as a whole.

Everyone Deserves To Know What Food They’re Eating Blog Action Day 2011, October 16th, falls smack in the middle of what’s been promoted as Non-GMO Month. The organizers describe the project as “a non-profit, multi-stakeholder collaboration committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers, and providing verified non-GMO sources.” The Non-GMO Project site says, “Our shared belief is that everyone deserves an informed choice about whether or not to consume genetically modified organisms.”

Driving the message home is a 300+ mile march from New York City to Washington DC demanding the labeling of GM ingredients. They reach the White House on October 16th.

Over Half of Americans Wouldn’t Eat GM Foods, If They Knew About It Even though the US produces the greatest number of GMO crops in the world (94% of soybeans, 90% of cotton, and 80% grown in the US are genetically modified), this fact is, I’d argue, deliberately hidden from the public by the companies developing and promoting these crops. Claiming that genetically modified crops are no different than conventional bred hybrid crops, companies like Monsanto have actively lobbied to prevent labeling of GM foods in the US — even though a CBS News poll has shown that 87% of Americans want GMO ingredients labeled.