Have you heard?
Facing an ink crisis! Our secret ink stash is mysteriously depleted—blame it on a nocturnal ink-thirsty squid. But fear not! The EU’s solution: end labels on food produced with a new generation of genetically modified organisms (new GMOs). Why? Less printing, more ink saved. Who needs information and transparency when we can save our ink supplies? We’ll save ink, money and maybe – just maybe – save the world from the unspeakable horror of a life-sized, ink-sucking cephalopod!”
Does that sound crazy? A little bit farfetched maybe? But beyond the ink-stained chuckles lies a more serious matter: the European Commission’s proposal to widely deregulate new GMOs and ditch their labels. Friends of the Earth Europe’s new Excuse Generator tool spins ridiculous excuses for not labeling new GMOs, like blaming ink shortages, to raise awareness on what is actually at stake for consumers, farmers, the whole food sector, and nature with the Commission’s proposal. Try it out, create your own stupid excuse and share!
What’s your excuse?
A little bit of background
Big pesticide and seed corporations want to push new GMOs on the market, forcing genetically modified plants and food onto our fields and plates without us knowing about it.
These corporations have been lobbying the European Commission for years to exclude them from the European GMO regulation, making unsubstantiated claims on the supposed benefits for sustainability, pesticide reduction and climate. But as they also hold patents on the seeds engineered with these techniques, their true motivation remains to increase their profits.
Excluding new GMOs from the current GMO regulation, which includes labeling and safety checks, would take away farmers’, food processors’, retailers’ and consumers’ right to be informed whether the feed and food they buy contains new GMOs and prevent them from opting for GM-free choices.
We have the right to decide what we eat and grow in our fields, no more stupid excuses!
