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View Full Version : Organic food might not be Organic



GreenMonkey
Apr 1st, 2006, 10:18 AM
This is really crazy. Calling GMO foods organic. You should read this full article by Pamela. She has another one talking about GMO Soy..

New Article in Nature 2.0 beta

USDA Certified Organic Is Rejected By China as Toxic
http://thegreenreport.com/nature2.0/?p=22

by Pamela Drew | Nature 2.0 beta

The Chinese Government is hardly known for defending human rights. It should come as a wake up call to Americans that a food Certified as USDA Organic isn’t permitted to enter the country of China. Why?The Heinz rice baby cereal was found to contain a Bt protein. The test results were provided by GeneScan, a Germany-based independent laboratory, which tested 19 food samples that Greenpeace had collected in the supermarkets in Beijing This GMO variety is common in American food but banned elsewhere. Thanks to Monsanto’s attorney, Michael Taylor, in 1994 our food regulations were rewritten to include the term, “substantial equivalence”. What that means is that many of the genetic modifications foods undergo are ignored, unregulated and untested.

Under US food laws, the new genetically modified “food” is treated like a traditional food, if the nutritional measures are close to the same. Close enough is the US policy, but not so for the rest of the world. Beijing will not allows Bt rice into the country. China views the Bt toxicity rendering it unfit for animals to consume, yet it’s certified USDA Organic. What the Bt’s going on?

DianeVegan
Apr 1st, 2006, 11:10 AM
My understanding is that the test uncovered contamination, which happens when you plant GMO's near organic crops or mix the crops at any point in food production. The USDA does NOT allow GMOs under the organic certification program. Many of us in the U.S. have been working tirelessly to keep it that way. However, mistakes (deliberate or not) do happen. In the U.S. it's become a job of vigilance to avoid GMOs, and one of the reasons that buying local and from small farms is gaining in popularity.

Thanks for the link, GreenMonkey. I wish every country would ban U.S. imports until they completely took GMOs out of our food supply.

GreenMonkey
Apr 1st, 2006, 11:19 AM
DianeVegan,

I am going to add your Comment to the Comment section, so Pamela will see it.