It has been two years since the U.S. Department of Agriculture passed the regulations mandating the labeling of genetically mandated ingredients. The finalized regulations that have recently been released leave much to be desired. Just Label It, a prominent organization devoted to mandatory GMO labeling, released a statement expressing their disappointment.

Specifically, we are deeply disappointed that the final rule does not clearly require the disclosure of all genetically engineered ingredients, including highly refined sugars and oils, and new GMO techniques like CRISPR and RNAi. The rule fails to require that foods be disclosed using terms that consumers understand like ‘genetically engineered’ or ‘GMO.’ And it leaves consumers in the dark if they live in rural places with poor cell service or don’t have smart phones.”

Related: Gluten Intolerance, Wheat Allergies, and Celiac Disease – It’s More Complicated Than You Think

Labeling Options

Companies have until 2022 to implement these regulations. There are a few GMO labeling options.

Companies can use clear wording to state the presence of genetically modified ingredients on their packaging. Instead of “G.M.O.’’ and “genetically engineered,” they can say “bioengineered” or “BE.”

Companies can use an electronic digital link like a QR code that consumers can read with a cell phone app that will inform the consumer of the ingredients. Such a link must be accompanied by the statement “Scan here for more food information,” or equivalent language.

The amended Act requires that the use of an electronic or digital link to disclose BE food must be accompanied by the statement, ‘Scan here for more food information’ or equivalent language’ – deemed too hard for shoppers. Regulated entities that choose this option are required to include a statement on the package that instructs consumers on how to receive a text message.”

Companies can use a friendly-looking symbol (and the symbol can also be black and white):

Additionally, a phone number or a web address to get more information are options for smaller manufacturers or for small packages.

There is also the “text message” option:

The NPRM proposed text message as an additional disclosure option if the Secretary were to determine that shoppers would not have sufficient access to digital or electronic disclosure. Food manufacturers and retailers that commented on this option were generally supportive of this option. Thus, AMS is adopting the text message option in § 66.108. Regulated entities that choose this option are required to include a statement on the package that instructs consumers on how to receive a text message.

Related: How to Avoid GMOs in 2018 – And Everything Else You Should Know About Genetic Engineering

There are companies like Campbell’s, Mars, Danone, Kellogg’s, Coca-Cola, and Unilever that will be labeling GMOs, regardless of the lax new regulations. Many international corporations, especially those that do business in Europe, already provide those labels. But there are many corporations that haven’t made that same commitment.

Confusing Regulations With Loopholes

The new labeling system seems designed to frustrate all but the most bureaucratic-loving individuals. Companies have to sort through a myriad of expensive and time-consuming labeling conditions. Consumers aren’t offered a simple way to identify GMO ingredients. Some ingredients won’t even be labeled, including high fructose corn syrup, refined sugar beets, certain oils (like canola), and other refined products.

According to the labeling guidelines:

Thus, based on the available scientific evidence, refined beet and cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, degummed refined vegetable oils, and various other refined ingredients are unlikely to require BE food disclosure because the conditions of processing serve effectively to degrade or eliminate the DNA that was initially present in the raw agricultural commodity.”

While that may be true from a scientific standpoint, it only makes the new regulations problematic in the eyes of consumers. When corn is an ingredient it’s almost always a GMO, and informed shoppers will know that. How much faith will they have in non-organic products containing corn that are not marked BE? This also ignores the possibility of customers choosing non-GMO products for environmental reasons. The refined product may not have any engineered DNA left in the final product but the corn (or beets) will still have been grown with the increased pesticides and other environmentally harmful practices associated with genetically modified crops.

And there are other exclusions.

Incidental additives will not require labeling.

Such an item will only trigger disclosure when it is used as an ingredient that is included on the ingredient list, not when used as an incidental additive.”​

To-Go foods are exempt.

Salads, soups, and other ready-to-eat items prepared by grocery stores are exempt from the disclosure requirements.”​

Meat and dairy from animals fed GMOs are exempt.

The amended Act prohibits a food derived from an animal from being considered a bioengineered food solely because the animal consumed feed produced from, containing, or consisting of a bioengineered substance.”​

Companies will be allowed to use the same equipment on GMO and non-GMO crops.

Gene-edited foods like CRISPR will be exempt.

Businesses with annual sales are less than $2.5m are also exempt.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut

Foods like cheese or yogurt that are made with bioengineered yeasts or rennet are not exempt.

Nothing New

Sixty-four countries worldwide have managed to implement GMO labeling. But the new GMO labeling for the U.S. does the opposite of what it should do. These regulations are not convenient or clear. If anything they’ll probably make grocery shopping even harder for many people.

Sources:

• National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard – USDA
• Government lays out the rules for labeling for genetically modified foods – CNBC
• The USDA’s Final Rule for GMO Labeling Stinks – Reason
• Statement from Just Label It on USDA’s Final Rule for Nationwide Disclosures of GMO Foods – Just Label It

Most of the food safety inspections have been stopped during the federal government shutdown. FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb says he is trying to figure out what the most essential inspections are and continue those inspections. To achieve this the FDA is said to have to force furloughed workers to work without being paid.

There are important things we are not doing.” – FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb

FDA inspectors are not testing products for salmonella, E. coli, listeria, etc. If companies find contamination issues the FDA will still publically announce the recalls. The FDA is still checking foreign food, but there is virtually no inspections of domestic food production.

We’re doing everything we can to try to maintain our basic consumer protection role. That’s our focus.” – Gottlieb said in interview to NBC

https://twitter.com/SGottliebFDA/status/1083055700593516545

Some of FDA’s work, such as drug approvals, inspections of drug-producing facilities, and regulating tobacco products, are paid for by user fees. They’re not greatly affected by the shutdown. But much of the budget is specifically appropriated by Congress, and it’s on hold. About 7,000 of the agency’s 17,000 employees, or 41 percent of staff, are furloughed.” – NBC

Gottlieb plans to call in about 10% of the FDA’s inspection workforce to re-start the inspections of the “high-risk domestic facilities.” Gottlieb estimates that the FDA employs about 5,000 inspectors and normally does about 160 inspections a month.

It’s something we currently aren’t doing. I think it’s the right thing to do for public safety.”

Federal data shows a large increase in asbestos imports to the U.S. Environmental groups have called for better reporting of asbestos products by U.S. manufacturers. The petition requested the EPA to require importers and users of asbestos and asbestos-containing products to report asbestos content to the public. The EPA has this authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA. Chemical Watch reported that the EPA will not implement additional reporting of asbestos usage.

Related: Johnson And Johnson Knew Asbestos Was In Baby Powder, More Lawsuits Are Coming

In October, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, or ADAO, and EWG analyzed import data that showed asbestos imports soared by nearly 2,000 percent between July and August 2018.

“According to the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Commerce Department, in August alone, the U.S. imported 272 metric tons of asbestos, compared with 13 metric tons in July. – Environmental Working Group

President Trump’s EPA not only refused to ban asbestos, which kills tens of thousands each year, it won’t even take a closer look at how much is imported and where and how it’s being used by companies. The hundreds of thousands of deaths caused from asbestos in the U.S. alone should be reason enough for the Trump administration to better inform the public about potential routes of exposure.” – ADAO President and Co-Founder Linda Reinstein

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is on the record indicating that the federal administration will likely be addressing the legalization of marijuana soon. In a television interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen, Gottlieb said there’s…

…probably going to be a policy reckoning around this at some point in the future. Obviously, it’s happening at the state level, and I think there’s an inevitability that it’s going to happen at the federal level at some point soon…”

It’s possible that the commissioner is referring to a proposed bill that would exempt state-legal marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act. President Trump expressed approval of the bill back in June of 2018, and federal opposition to marijuana could ahve also lessened further with the departure of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Gottlieb was unable to provide any additional insight into federal marijuana policy, adding, “Unfortunately I don’t have anything additional to share.”

What They Have Approved

It’s useful to look at what the U.S. government has legalized. Marijuana in any of its forms is illegal. Even though cannabidiol (CBD) doesn’t contain the Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that gets users high, it’s only legal under three circumstances – when it is extracted from the parts of the cannabis plant not considered marijuana, when it is produced for research purposes, and when it has been approved for the FDA for medical use. According to the commissioner, FDA approval of marijuana products has happened.

We have approved compounds derived from marijuana, but there is no demonstrated medical use of botanical marijuana. That’s the bottom line.”

So what does botanical mean? A botanical drug is classified as a finished product or medicine that contains plant matter. Three medications using synthetic THC have been approved, but only one drug containing natural CBD medication has been approved by the FDA, Epidiolex from GW Pharmaceuticals in the U.K.

Much has been made of the lack of scientific study and data to back medical claims regarding cannabis and CBD, in large part due to the difficulties of conducting peer-reviewed research on illegal substances. That looks to be changing though, as the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report earlier in the year declaring that naturally occurring CBD is safe and well tolerated in humans (and animals) and not associated with any negative public health effects. The report also touted the compound’s potential as a treatment for epilepsy. While this is not the only study to report positive outcomes from CBD, the WHO is a leader in scientific research and worldwide policy often takes their recommendations into account.

Recommended: Sugar Leads to Depression – World’s First Trial Proves Gut and Brain are Linked (Protocol Included)

Slow Change and Momentum

It was big news when our northern neighbors legalized marijuana in all of its forms on October 17, making Canada only the second country in the world to do so. It remains to be seen if sharing a border with a country containing legally obtainable weed will have any influence on the state of marijuana reform in the U.S. After the 2018 midterms, legalized recreational marijuana is available in 10 states and the District of Columbia.

It’s difficult to know with our current administration where federal policy will end up on the legalization spectrum. Their most vocal marijuana opponent is gone, and Trump is on the record as “probably will end up supporting that” in response to a bill favorable towards cannabis. But who knows if that means anything?

Sources:

• Federal Marijuana Action Is An ‘Inevitability,’ Trump FDA Chief Says – Marijuana Moment
• Here Are All the States That Have Legalized Weed in the U.S. – Esquire
• Uruguay was the first country to fully legalize marijuana – Vox
• Marijuana Law, Policy, and Authority – Vanderbilt University Law School
• WHO Report Finds No Public Health Risks Or Abuse Potential For CBD – Forbes

One of Trump’s campaign promises was to lower drug prices. Trump said they were “getting away with murder.” He has not accomplished his pledge, and new tax filings may reveal why he instead gave the pharmaceutical companies a tax break. In 2017 Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America gave $2.5 million to a pro-Trump advocacy group called America First Policies Inc.

Topping America First Policies’ known donor list for its first year of operation is the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade group representing the drug company industry’s lobbying interests, which disclosed giving $2.5 million to America First Policies in a new tax return obtained by the Center for Responsive Politics and first identified by Maplight.” – Open Secrets

Drug prices have not come down and are in fact on a steep rise, but Trump has falsely taken credit for lowering drug costs.

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There were fewer price increases this year from January through July than in comparable prior-year periods, but companies still hiked prices far more often than they cut them. This year through the end of July, there were 4,412 brand-name drug price increases and 46 price cuts. To put it another way: For every price decrease over those seven months, there were 96 price hikes.” – Associated Press

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While Trump has moved to allow limited negotiation in some parts of Medicare, he has rejected the larger policy he campaigned on, leaving it out of his prescription drug proposal released earlier this year.” – Captian & Main

Source:

• Trump Group Takes In Millions From Big Pharma As Drug Makers Continue To Raise Prices – Medium

Memos and emails obtained by Buzzfeed News show the current administration attempting to reverse positive public support of cannabis. In August BuzzFeed News reported on a secretive marijuana committee operated by the White House with the purpose of spreading negative attitudes toward marijuana and portraying the plant as dangerous. Buzzfeed says the Trump administration was evasive when BuzzFeed News attempted to confirm reports on the secretive marijuana committee. But Buzzfeed News now reports that:

…the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has acknowledged the committee’s existence in a letter to a Democratic senator seeking information in light of BuzzFeed News’ report.”

The Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee was reportedly directed to ignore positive health effects and societal benefits of marijuana use. But The Hill reports that the White House denies only seeking negative information on marijuana:

“I assure you that ONDCP seeks all perspectives, positive or negative, when formulating Administration policy. You have my full and firm commitment that ONDCP will be completely objective and dispassionate in collecting all relevant facts and peer-reviewed scientific research on all drugs, including marijuana.” – ONDCP acting Director James Carroll wrote in a letter sent to Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet.

BuzzFeed News reported in August on memos sent to federal agencies seeking only negative information on marijuana. The memos asked for data that shows only “the most significant negative trends” on cannabis. The committee stated in one memo it wanted to reverse the trend of increasing marijuana usage.

Staff believe that if the administration is to turn the tide on increasing marijuana use there is an urgent need to message the facts about the negative impacts of marijuana use, production, and trafficking on national health, safety, and security.” – quoted from comittee meeting summery, posted on Buzzfeed News

Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested 45 products with conventionally grown oats and found glyphosate in 43 of them. They also tested 16 different products using organic oats. The products tested included breakfast cereals like lucky charms and cheerios, granola, and snack bars in addition to whole oats and instant oats. While the organic samples better,tter , five of the samples registered positive for glyphosate. Quaker Old Fashioned Oats, Quaker Simply Granola, Giant Instant Oatmeal, and Quaker Dinosaur Eggs Instant Oatmeal had particularly high levels of glyphosate. A glyphosate risk assessment found that children are likely to have the highest levels of dietary exposure to the chemical, and this study from EWG is a wake-up call. Alexis Temkin, Ph.D., a toxicologist and the author of the study, says,

Parents shouldn’t worry about whether feeding their children healthy oat foods will also expose them to a chemical linked to cancer. The government must take steps to protect our most vulnerable populations…”

Related: How to Avoid GMOs in 2018 – And Everything Else You Should Know About Genetic Engineering

Glyphosate and Health

Roundup has been in all of the news lately, as a California jury recently ruled that the herbicide was the cause of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It makes sense that the legal victory came in the state of California, where glyphosate has been listed as a cause of cancer on their Proposition 65 list since July of 2017. The court case will likely prove instrumental in the continued investigation of how Roundup impacts human health, but this far from the first time the herbicide has been linked to cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic, or cancer-causing, in 2015, a categorization Monsanto (and now Bayer) has been vigorously arguing ever since. The herbicide has also been linked to a plethora of other health concerns like Alzheimer’s, birth defects, respiratory illness, Parkinson’s disease, reproductive issues, and several conditions linked gut disruption (obesity, Irritable Bowel Disease, Colitis, and Leaky Gut).

Over the Threshold

In 1985, the Environmental Protection Agency labeled glyphosate as a cancer risk. That categorization was reversed in 1991, and since then the government organization has become one of Monsanto’s most important assets. The EPA has expressed nothing but support for the weed-killer since 1991. The agency disagreed with the IARC’s findings, issuing a rebuttal a year later. Email correspondence between a high-ranking official at the EPA and Monsanto employees detailing the official’s efforts to squash glyphosate investigations emerged in 2017. The EPA’s has also imposed exceptionally lenient safety standards on glyphosate, as the federal agency’s safe levels of exposure to the herbicide are 60 times higher than the state of California’s.

Related: Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections

Collateral Damage

The EPA, especially considering the business-friendly, environmentally ambivalent Trump administration, is not likely to care about the damage glyphosate has and is doing. EWG president Ken Cook says,

We will petition the Environmental Protection Agency to do its job and end uses of glyphosate that resulted in the contamination we report today…But we very much doubt our petition will be acted upon by President Trump’s lawless EPA. So we’re calling on the companies to make these iconic products with clean ingredients.”

It will be difficult. This study shows that even organic products can have glyphosate on them…because it’s everywhere. Taking on the world’s most-used herbicide is a daunting task, and consumer dollars will be a big part of how businesses choose to handle it.

Sources:

• Glyphosate — It’s What’s for Breakfast: Study Finds Cancer-Causing Weedkiller in Popular Oatmeal, Cereals, and Snack Bars – Alternet
• Breakfast With a Dose of Roundup? – Environmental Working Group
• Widely used herbicide linked to cancer – Nature.com
• 15 Health Problems Linked to Monsanto’s Roundup – EcoWatch
• New Study Shows EPA ‘Safe’ Levels of Glyphosate Not Safe at All – Care2
• How Monsanto Captured the EPA (And Twisted Science) To Keep Glyphosate on the Market – In These Times