From the editor
by Rosemary Fifield

Consumer Education on GMOs:
A Question of Method

On October 30, 2001, members of the Upper Valley Citizens’ Voluntary Labeling Brigade demonstrated at the Lebanon Co-op as part of a national day of action against genetic engineering. Roughly a dozen people rushed through the store putting yellow and black biohazard labels on packages of products including cereal, snack food, canned soup, and Halloween candy. The labels read "Warning: This product may contain genetically modified organisms which pose serious health and environmental risks."

Members of the group also began approaching customers in the aisles, at which point Co-op management asked the protesters to leave the store. When they refused, the store manager called the Lebanon Police for assistance in protecting shoppers and stopping the defacement of Co-op property. A protestor who still refused to leave was subsequently arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, and trespassing.

On October 30, 2001, roughly a dozen people rushed through the Lebanon Co-op Food Store putting yellow and black biohazard labels like this one on packages of products.

According to the group, the purpose of their raid was to raise consumer awareness of the presence of genetically modified ingredients in foods and to emphasize the need for mandatory labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Current FDA regulations offer food manufacturers the option of voluntarily labeling their products as containing GMOs, but do not make it mandatory.

When asked why the group chose to target the Co-op, even though we have an active Education Department devoted to keeping our members and shoppers informed about food production issues, one protester said the Co-op wasn’t doing enough to educate the public about GMOs. In fact, he said, he had heard that the Co-op held presentations where people were actually encouraged to accept genetic modification of foods. Speaking to a newspaper reporter, a group member said "We chose the co-op because it has the image of a wholesome, small-time market. But when you walk into the store, the first thing you see are candy bars." (Valley News, October 31, 2001) He also stated that the group was aware that they could have set up an information table in the store with the Co-op’s permission, but they decided to choose "direct action" instead.

The Co-op’s Approach
The Hanover Co-op was formed during the Great Depression as a practical way to bring quality goods and services to the Upper Valley. Unlike natural food co-ops that often began with political agendas, our co-op, with its diverse membership, does not ban products from the shelves nor take part in political activism. For this reason, we are often accused of not being a "real co-op" by those who don’t understand the nature of the cooperative business model. For them, a real co-op is defined by what it will not carry, rather than by how well it meets the purposes for which it was founded.

Providing unbiased, useful information for its members is a basic component of the cooperative model. The owners of a consumer cooperative are also its customers. Therefore, when the owners employ staff to provide consumer information, it is for themselves, and they expect that information to be honest and trustworthy.

Our co-op’s Education and Merchandising staff take these expectations seriously. Our purpose is not to influence shoppers to buy or not buy goods, but to provide our member/owners with the information they want and need to make informed purchasing decisions. To this end, we strive to cover all the issues that might influence a shopper’s choice. These include methods of food production or acquisition, place of origin, environmental impact, nutritional content, health issues, food safety concerns, ease of use, shelf-life, and more.

We accomplish this in many different ways. We may use signage, shelf talkers, articles in the Co-op News, handouts at the point of sale, brochures, cooking classes, product demos, recipe samplings, or reference books kept at the Information Desks. Members of the Education Department are available to answer questions by phone, in person, or by e-mail. Our staff dietitian gives store tours that are customized to meet the needs of the participants. Staff members participate in outreach activities that take them to all areas of the community.

In addition to these staff activities, the Co-op periodically sponsors public lectures and panels featuring outside speakers. As part of our Educated Eater Series in 2000, we included a panel on genetically modified organisms and another on recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) in dairy products. True to our charge to provide well-rounded information on all sides of an issue and to let consumers make their own decisions, we invited speakers who were both for and against genetically modified organisms and the use of rBGH. And, true to our commitment to remain an unbiased source of information, we did not speak to the issue as "the Co-op," although many staff members asked pointed questions of the presenters.

Can We Ever Satisfy Everyone? Should We Try?
Obviously, the Co-op’s approach to providing consumer information does not meet the expectations of those who want a more militant attitude with greater emphasis on the evils of GMOs. But GMOs are not the only topic vying for the attention of our members.

Food production is fraught with controversy. As the director of the Education Department, I am continuously made aware of the many food-related topics that are important to our members. These include, but are not limited to:

While we do our best to cover each of these topics in some manner, I believe that most people realize we cannot devote all of our energies to any one of them. Yet, it is not uncommon for me to hear from someone who feels that we are not doing enough to inform customers about his or her particular topic of interest. Fortunately, they have all been reasonable people who understand the value of working with us in a positive manner.

The Co-op’s Education Department welcomes voluntary help from anyone who wishes to assist us in providing more information to customers through appropriate means. Responding to a mid-November letter from the Labeling Brigade, I offered them the opportunity to provide us with written information and lists of GMO-free products that we could distribute to members. At this writing, in late December, I am waiting for a reply.

As I write this, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the FDA has warned several natural foods companies that their "non-GMO" labels are misleading and in violation of labeling laws. The agency states that it doubts food companies can make a non-GMO claim with absolute certainty. Among the companies receiving the letter was Spectrum Organic Products, Inc. Yet, by definition, certified organic products do not contain GMOs. Thus, it appears that while manufacturers can voluntarily label their products that contain GMOs (but aren’t likely to), those companies with every good intention to eliminate GMOs cannot say so because their sources – even if they are organic – risk contamination from GMOs either in the field or during harvesting, storage, or transportation.

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