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Frito Lay Gets Sued. Increasing Pressure to Label GMOs

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Tostitos - All Natural GMO?

Frito Lays is being sued in New York by a man who claims he was duped to paying more for product labeled “All Natural” when in fact they are not:

In the proposed class-action lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court, plaintiff Chris Shake said the snacks actually contain corn and oils made from genetically engineered plants.

Shake said he shelled out an additional 10 cents per ounce of chips to buy the allegedly “all-natural” Tostitos and SunChips instead of a product such as Doritos, which makes no such claim.

Independent testing conducted on samples of Frito-Lay products labeled “all natural” uncovered the presence of ingredients – including corn and vegetable oils – made from genetically modified plants, the lawsuit said. read more from Reuters…

Is the lawsuit justified? According to the manufacturer, their labeling “complies with all regulatory requirements.”

And truth be told, they are. There is absolutely no definition of “natural” foods in FDA guidelines, nor is there a “natural” certification program like there is for Organic food.

So perhaps a better approach would be to sue the government? Or to use democratic means to get the regulatory bodies to make a bold decision to require companies to label ingredients as Genetically Modified?

One such means is to petition the government. See for example the online petition on JustLabelIt.org. According to this consumer group, 80% of foods in our supermarkets contain genetically modified ingredients. Not surprising when you add 2+2:

- most corn and soy in the US is genetically modified.

- most processed foods have some corn or soy ingredient or derivative listed as an ingredient.

Is GMO a health risk to consumers? That’s a hotly debated issue. But if it is enough of an issue for millions of Americans, then we have a right to know if a food we are about to purchase uses genetically modified ingredients. Unfortunately, our right is being blocked by a strong lobby representing business interests, not ours.

So please go ahead and fill out the petition.

What to do at the supermarket:

To assure you are not buying GMO products you have several options:

- Buy organic. Certified organic products do not allow for GMOs.

- Buy products labeled “Non-GMO”. See the Non-GMO Project for details

- Move to Europe. The governments there listened to their constituents and decided to mandate GMO info on products. They required labeling of each GM ingredient. As a result, no manufacturer wanted to risk losing customers and opted for non-GMO ingredients.

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  • Chelsefriedrich

    Think I’ll move to Europe. We can’t seem to get greed out of our health care. Is it too much to ask not to have ingredients hidden and misconstrued on labels?

  • Guest

    More frivolous lawsuits. One can only hope the fool who brought this nuisance lawsuit, when he loses his case, is made to pay all court costs and defendant’s legal fees. The term “all natural” has no real meaning. Just a mirage in the overheated minds of foodies with more money than brains.

  • Betsy Keller MS< RD

    seems to be a hot topic and getting the attention it deserves…GMO is the stealth ingredient! http://fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com/2012/01/31/genetically-modified-organisms-gmos-the-stealth-food-ingredient/

  • Beckie

    Love the last suggestion!  Not sarcastic at all.  Thanks for keeping the light on GMOs.  I’m off to sign the petition…

  • Matt B

    Great post and thanks for the supermarket advice.  I read in one of Marrion Nestle’s books about the extreme difficulty of getting the GMO labeled foods legislation passed.  But I also heard there are some companies out there that label there foods voluntarily.  Does anyone know what are the names of the opposing lobbyist groups? 

  • Matt B

    Great post and thanks for the supermarket advice.  I read in one of Marrion Nestle’s books about the extreme difficulty of getting the GMO labeled foods legislation passed.  But I also heard there are some companies out there that label there foods voluntarily.  Does anyone know what are the names of the opposing lobbyist groups? 

    • Wrestling With Hogs

      Who needs opposing lobbyist groups when you have repulsive a$$h*les like Marion Nestle hurling feces in every direction? Even congresspeople can see through Nestle’s shrill histrionics. And she is one of the more sedate haters!

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