Prop 37 was defeated in California so there will be no labeling of GMO foods in the immediate future. There are some companies that are able to label their foods as non-GMO but it’s tough for them to identify supply chains so at the moment in order to be GMO free you’ll need to eat solely organic foods. That is expensive.
I’m trying to set the stage here so that y’all understand that there might be some GMO foods in my home (besides the $40 Twinkies I just sold on craigslist). It’s nearly impossible to avoid GMO foods in the US but it’s still an ideal worth striving toward.
You should also understand that along with Monsanto, brands like Coca Cola, Kraft, Nestle, and Bumble Bee gave tens of millions of dollars to fight labeling. These aren’t small amounts of money so one must assume that these food manufactures want to quietly keep GMOs in the food supply. To be clear, Prop 37 called for labeling of GMOs not elimination of them.
What’s fascinating (and a little frightening) to me is how good Bumble Bee’s social media team is. Leah Segedie posted something on their facebook page asking about GMOs and the conversation got interesting fast.
As much as I appreciate Bumble Bee’s seemingly upfront response:
Soybeans grown in commercial quantities in the United States include both GM and non-GM varieties, but current regulations do not require the identification and labeling of these varieties, so consequently, our products containing soy broth may or may not be produced from GM soybeans. For more information, please visit the FAQs section of our website:http://www.bumblebee.com/faqs
It’s simply not a complete response. If you are eating conventionally grown soy in America you are eating a GMO crop. It’s either organic or it’s GMO.
The conversation turned in a few different directions. Why is there soy in Bumble Bee Tuna? What are they feeding the fish? What about mercury?
The social media manager did something that I think is brilliant. What do you think about this?
I think it was respectful and smart. I also hadn’t realized until that moment that I was on the Bumble Bee Foods facebook page. I thought I was on Leah’s wall and they’d just been tagged. I’m not looking to fight with Bumble Bee Foods. I think we all learned from Oprah’s Hamburger right?
Well, the bloggers didn’t think it was a good response and this happened.
And a few hours later the posts remain.
As someone who worries a lot about our oceans and our bodies Bumble Bee wasn’t a brand that ended up on my shelf. It’s just not the way I like to provide nutrition. I don’t really have a dog in this particular race.
Leah is an important woman. She brings health and fitness to thousands of women online in a non-judgmental way that is very well received (I happen to be too judgmental for her schtick). If Leah is talking about GMO Foods then you can assume that thousands of other women will be talking about it on their blogs too. She’s the Queen Bee in that realm.
Is Bumble Bee brilliant to let her post stick or foolish? We just got done talking about the Pantages, now we’ve got another LA Lady mixing it up.
For context here is the (very long) thread.
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Does your product contain GMOs?
Wait, I’m confused. Why IS there soy in tuna fish? Did anyone answer that?
maybe in the oil packed tuna? It’s so weird that I can’t even try to understand.
This just ruins Yom Kippur. If I ate tuna fish, of course.
Now I’m confused. Who eats tuna or Yom Kippur? If you say you put it on white bread I’ll out you as a goy.
Um, what do you do for breaking of the fast?! Egg salad, tuna salad, blintzes, bagels with all the accoutrements. And bobka.
It’s the tuna packed in oil. Most healthy folks get the water packed tuna.
Thanks – and that makes a little bit more sense. But now confused that people actually buy the tuna packed in oil. Never understood that option.
I’m thinking there IS soy in tuna and GM soy at that. BUT I read somewhere they are suing @GMOInside for labeling their product and taking a picture of it and putting it on Pinterest, etc. But this brand is a total “mom” product and people think it’s healthy, which is NOT true. They need to know.
My favorite canned tuna brand is EcoFish (aka: Henry & Lisa’s); their ingredient deck goes something like, “Tuna, Salt and nothing else”. Cans are also BPA free: http://www.ecofish.com
From a comment on ChowHound thread dated 07/02/2003 (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/293351):
This is directly from the Bumble Bee website. The last sentence answers your question;
Why does Bumble Bee add vegetable broth to canned tuna?
Vegetable Broth is added to our canned tuna products as an optional flavoring ingredient. It enhances the flavor of tuna, resulting in a more mild, delicate taste. The broth currently used is derived from vegetables such as beans, peas, celery or carrots. The broth also generally contains a soy protein, which is why some of our products declare, “contains soy.”
Something was wacky with your chowhound link http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/293351
A tip on produce codes: if it has five digits and starts with a 9 it is organic. If it is 4 digits and starts with a 4 (or any other number except 8) it is conventionally grown. If there are 4 digits and the first is an 8 you’re holding a GMO item.
This is such valuable information. Thank you!
This is all voluntary labeling. Have you ever actually SEEN a GMO label? IT’s not accurate. AT ALL.
Weekly I have people put this information on my wall. And guess what, voluntary labeling is not labeling. It means…”hey mr. gmo vegetable…can you PLEASE label your shit? I’m not forcing you to and I dont’ really expect you to but I’d just like to be able to confuse people by saying we already have labeling. Is that okay?” ….cause that is what is happening.
i bought a can of tuna in an organic store. soy is not listed as an ingredient, but it says packaged in a plant that processes soy. what does that mean
It means that they use the same equipment to package the kind you bought AND the kind with soy oil or soy broth in it.