Breaking Video: 2007 Campaign Promise, Obama Says He'll Label GMOs If Elected

Breaking Video: 2007 Campaign Promise, Obama Says He'll Label GMOs If Elected
Posted by Dave on October 3, 2011

Breaking video: In 2007 Obama promised Iowa farmers that if elected he'd label GMO food.

Tell President Obama it's time to live up to his campaign promise to Label GMOs

Sign the Petition

I urge President Obama to direct the FDA to label foods that have been genetically modified in high tech laboratories.

Obama promised to label GMO foods if elected - Tell him: "It's time to Label GMOs!"

Do you think that Americans know what they’re buying at the grocery store? Chances are they don’t.

According to the Grocery Manufacturers Association an estimated 80% of processed foods sold in the U.S. contain ingredients that have been genetically modified in high-tech laboratories, known as GMOs (or genetically modified organisms).

For the past 20 years Americans have been denied their basic right to know because of a flawed regulatory system that has relied on corporate science without adequate peer-reviewed testing and scientific oversight. Recent polling has shown that 93% of Americans support mandatory labeling of GMOs.

Fortunately we have a president that agrees with labeling GMOs: In 2007 President Obama promised to label GMOs in a campaign speech stating that he'll "let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified". Today we stand behind President Obama in urging him to fulfill his promise.

Click here to watch Senator Obama calling for GMO labeling on the campaign trail in 2007. Join us in telling President Obama it’s time to keep his word: Label GMOs!

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/434?ak_proof=1&akid=.196395.6NXxOv&t=8

In the fall of 2007, then Senator Barack Obama was jockeying for second place in the Iowa caucus, the first in the nation electoral contest in the 2008 election. On November 10th, Senator Obama spoke in front of an audience of more than 400 farmers and rural activists, pledging to promote local foods, sustainable agriculture and the labeling of GMO foods if elected.

Half way into his speech, Obama said:

“Here’s what I’ll do as President. I’ll immediately implement Country of Origin Labeling because Americans should know where their food comes from. And we’ll let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they’re buying,” promised Obama.

Tell President Obama it’s time to keep his word – Label GMOs! Click here to watch the video where Senator Obama calls for GMO labeling on the campaign trail and sign your name to make it happen.

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/434?ak_proof=1&akid=.196395.6NXxOv&t=14

Food Democracy Now! joins a broad coalition of more than 400 businesses, co-ops and organizations in the call to label genetically engineered foods. Last week, the Center for Food Safety filed a legal petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and we urge President Obama to hold true to his campaign promise and direct the FDA to immediately implement mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods.

Already more than 40 countries around the world require labeling of foods that contain GMOs. While Americans who live in the “land of the free” have no idea what’s in their food, citizens in Australia, Brazil, the European Union, Japan, Russia and even China have the legal right to know.

Since the Obama administration has ramped up approval of GMO crops over the past nine months, including Monsanto’s Roundup Ready GMO alfalfa, Roundup Ready GMO sugar beets, Syngenta’s GMO ethanol corn and a Scotts MiracleGro variety of GMO grass for lawns, with approval for GMO salmon is currently pending with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it's clear that it's time that foods made with GMOs be labeled.

Click here to watch the video and tell President Obama: It's time to stand up to the corruption of our regulatory system and help make GMO labeling a reality, because you agree, "Americans should know what they're buying".

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/434?ak_proof=1&akid=.196395.6NXxOv&t=17

Please help us keep the pressure on, we need to raise $20,000 to spread the word about this vital campaign so that we can make sure millions of Americans join the call for labeling. It’s urgent that American citizens not only learn about their food, but also have the right to know what’s in it to make informed choices. Help us in the campaign to label GMOs.

Pitching in $35 will help us to deliver your message to Washington DC — It's time to make GMO labeling a reality.

http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/449?ak_proof=1&akid=.196395.6NXxOv&t=20

Let this administration know that we demand our basic right to know if the food that we’re eating contains ingredients that have been genetic engineered.

We are committed to this fight now, more than ever - please join us. Together, our voices will create the future we deserve.

Thank you for participating in food democracy-

Dave, Lisa and the Food Democracy Now! Team

Sources

1. “Many Skeptical of Bio-Engineered Food”, ABC News, June 19, 2011 http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/451?ak_proof=1&akid=.280257.tjOWwF&t=19

2. "Groups File Legal Petition With FDA Demanding Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods", Center for Food Safety, October 4, 2011.

http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/2011/10/04/groups-file-legal-petition-with-fda-demanding-labeling-of-genetically-engineered-foods/

3. “Studies show GMOs in majority of U.S. processed foods, 58 percent of Americans unaware of issue”, PR Newswire, October 10, 2010, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/studies-show-gmos-in-majority-of-us-processed-foods-58-percent-of-americans-unaware-of-issue-104510549.html