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With Valentine’s Day just around the corner it’s impossible to miss the sea of red and chocolate in every aisle of every store. How did chocolate become almost synonymous with Valentine’s Day? There’s no surprise that after Halloween, Valentine’s Day is the single largest candy-consuming day [2] all year in the Unites States.
Unfortunately many of our favorite chocolate treats are filled with Genetically Modified Organisms (also called GM, GE or GMOs). GMOs [3] refers to crop plants that are consumed by animals and/or humans that have been tweaked or modified in a lab to boost desired traits such as: the ability of the plant to produce its own pesticide, disease resistance and improved nutritional value.
Food with GMOs looks and tastes the same, but they’re not the same. Food producers have been altering and messing with our food with the blessing of the FDA, but without our permission.
GMO labeling isn’t required in the US
Does that bother you? It bothers me. It actually makes me angry. We have the right to know what’s going into our food-don’t we? If we take a look at our friends in the EU and other countries -GMO labeling has been the norm for years. Yet in the US the FDA doesn’t require the labeling of GMOs in food ingredient lists.
So what does that mean? Since there’s no requirement for companies to label their products when we buy food we generally have no way of knowing whether or not it contains GMOs.
Valentine’s Day and GMOs
Some of our favorite makers of chocolate are some of the strongest supporters of NOT labeling products that contain GMOs. Wondering why? Their products are some of the biggest offenders, filled with GMOs. That’s not all. Not only are their products filled with GMOs, but they also contributed big bucks to stop GMO labeling.
GMOiNSiDE.org put together this great graphic showing how two of the largest chocolate manufacturers (comprising 70% of the chocolate market in the US!) don’t care about GMOs and transparency in food labeling.
How you can avoid GMOs on Valentine’s Day
- Don’t buy chocolate.
- Make your Valentine’s Day eco-friendly [4] with a unique gift other than chocolate.
- Look for organic chocolate [5]
or chocolates with the Non-GMO Project Verified seal [6]. Here’s what the label looks like.
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Take action
Tell Hershey and Mars: There is nothing sweet about GMOs! Send your message to them HERE. [2]
Do you believe that everyone has a right to know what’s in their food?
photo credit: Rushing Mania [8] via photopin [9] cc [10]