Good news.--Tom

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Laurel Hopwood <[log in to unmask]>
To: CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wed, Dec 31, 2014 2:04 pm
Subject: demand for products that don't contain GMOs is exploding



http://harvestpublicmedia.org/article/how-your-food-gets-%E2%80%98non-gmo%E2%80%99-label
(edited)


Demand for products that don't containgenetically modified organisms, or GMOs, is exploding.
 
"We currently are at over $8.5 billionin annual sales of verified products," said Megan Westgate,executive director of the Non-GMO Project, the main supplier ofnon-GMO labels.


To receive the label, a product has to becertified as containing ingredients with less than 1 percent geneticmodification. Westgate says that's a realistic standard, whiletotally GMO-free is not. She says natural foods stores began theprocess of defining a standard, involving other interested playersalong the way, including consumers.


But how does a company get into thenon-GMO game? They might call Food Chain ID, a company in Fairfield,Iowa, that can shepherd them through the process. It's one of thethird-party auditors that certifies products for the Non-GMOProject.


FoodChain ID has a lab where a machine canextract the DNA from ingredient samples in order to analyze it. Ifthat test finds no evidence of GMOs, the ingredient can go in theproduct. David Carter, FoodChair ID's manager, says he can barely keepup with the number of inquiries coming in from companies that wantcertification.


To date, FoodChain ID has verified 17,000ingredients from 10,000 suppliers in 96 countries.
If the current trend continues, it seemslikely that some farmers will start considering going back to seedswithout GMOs.


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