Posted December 15, 2014
Stacey Forshee, a member of Farm Bureau, asked Congress to help consumers understand the differences between food safety concerns and “marketing ploys” by passing H.R. 4432 , the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, according to a Wisconsin Ag Connection article available here. Food Navigator also published an article available hereand Pal-Item here.
“As a hard-working American family who lives off the land and the products it provides, we would never allow a product we grew or raised to enter the food supply unless we knew it was safe,” said Forshee. She and her husband are farmers and cattle ranchers in north central Kansas, and Forshee said that she has witnessed firsthand the “marked benefits of biotechnology crops, including higher yields over fewer tillable acres, reduced pesticide use and improved soil conservation.”
Forshee praised the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) “science-based approach to labeling food products for safety, health, and nutrition information,” but worries consumers will be misled, according to Pal-Item.
Labeling foods with biotechnology traits “will mislead consumers into believing such food products are materially different, create undue risk and should be avoided — all of which are scientifically false,” she said.
Since 1996, more than 17 million farmers have increased the world food supply by 110 million tons of soybeans and 195 million tons of corn. Farmers have also reduced pesticide use by 1.2 billion pounds by planting GMO crops.
Mandatory genetically modified (GMO) food labeling would increase the cost of food by approximately $500 a year per family, which could put even more burdens on families that already struggle with grocery bills, according to Food Navigator.
For more information on food safety, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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