When genetically modified organisms first hit the market in the 1990s, there was no requirement by the Federal Government for them to be labeled. This was because the United States regulating agencies determined that there was no difference in the safety of GMOs when compared to produce the was bred in a traditional fashion. Furthermore, before any GMOs were released onto the market as food for public consumption, the FDA required that all GMOs be subject to the same safety standards as all other foods. (Purdue University College of Agriculture). In years since, however, some members of the public, such as The Non-GMO project, have advocated for there to be more information on what their food contains. The Non-GMO project’s mission statement reads as follows: “The Non-GMO Project is a nonprofit organization committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers, and providing verified non-GMO choices” (Non GMO Project). Through this nonprofit organization, food producers are able to elect to undergo a verification process to bear the Non-GMO Product label. This can be done even if the product would never have a GMO in it anyway due to the nature of the product. The Non-GMO project is not approved by the FDA, however, and as such is not considered by the federal government to be a reliable representation of non-GMO foods. In 2016, Congress passed a bill which was then signed by President Obama that establishes a federal standard for labeling foods that have been made with GMOs. The bill requires food labels to use one of three types of labels to indicate to the consumer whether the product contains some form of GMO. This could be a statement on the package, a directions to a website or a phone number, or a QR code. This does not include The Non-GMO project label.
Image by Beck, Robyn. From Getty Images. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/01/20/378361539/how-your-food-gets-the-non-gmo-label
Purdue University College of Agriculture. (2020). What's the Story on GMOs and Labeling? The Science of GMOs. https://ag.purdue.edu/GMOs/Pages/GMOsandLabels.aspx
The Food and Drug Administration. (2020, April 22). Science and History of GMOs and Other Food Modification Processes. The Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/science-and-history-gmos-and-other-food-modification-processes?utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=feedyourmind2020
The Non GMO Project. (2016). Mission. About. https://www.nongmoproject.org/about/mission/