GMO on the Label

Last month, the Canario Convivium in Uruguay organized the “First Seminar on the Labeling of Food with Transgenic Origins”, in the capital city, Montevideo. The seminar aimed to promote the idea of traceability and compulsory labeling for products containing genetically modified ingredients.

As well as discussing the current situation and the risks and doubts linked to the cultivation of transgenic crops in the country, they presented good practice related to controlling the expansion of GMO maize cultivation in Cuba. The seminar ended with the tasting of some products from the Uruguayan Terra Madre network.

“In my country GMO identification in labels is not compulsory, even though nearly all soybeans and 80% of corn are transgenic,” said Laura Rosano, chef and Slow Food Canario Convivium leader,

According to a recent thesis in biology, out of 20 kinds of maize flour sold in Uruguay, as many as 18 contain genetically modified ingredients. “We are consuming GMOs everyday,” continued Rosano, “and maize porridge is also one of the foods advised for babies. The risks for health are already clear. In the last 10-15 years allergies and respiratory diseases have sharply increased, but with the lack of an adequate labeling system it is hard to monitor the bond between such problems and the diffusion of GMOs.”

Watch the video of the meeting:

First part

Second part

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