ACTION ALERT

If It Walks Like a GMO . . .

When you buy a certified organic product, you know it’€™s GMO-free’€”because genetic engineering isn’€™t allowed in organic.

You also know the product and its ingredients haven’€™t been irradiated. Because irradiation is also banned from the USDA Organic certification rules.

But here’€™s something you probably don’€™t know. USDA Organic rules do allow something called mutagenesis in organic. Even though mutagenesis is a form of genetic modification. Involving radiation.

Mutagenesis is a method of plant breeding that involves subjecting plants to radiation, or dousing them in chemicals, in a way that scrambles their genes in order to produce new traits. The goal is to produce plants suitable for modern industrial agriculture, where crops are grown in vast monocultures with the aid of chemicals and machinery.

If that sounds a lot like genetic engineering, it’€™s because it is.

We don’€™t think mutagenesis should be allowed in organic. But if we want it out, we have to convince the National Organic Program to change its mind’€”and call for a change in the regulations governing organics.

TAKE ACTION: Tell the USDA National Organic Program: Mutagenesis Doesn’€™t Belong in Organic!