Labelling

 The US got into a trade war with Europe over the labelling of food that contains genetically modified ingredients. At this time, most of the corn and soybeans from the US are genetically modified. And so is sugar, wheat, and many other items.

While in the US, I used to always look for the "Certified Non GMO" label on the various food items, and stay away from those that didn't have it. Instead of labelling the food that DOES have GMO stuff in it, people created the opposite: labelling those that don't. 

There are two issues with this approach: first of all, it puts the burden of cost and bureaucracy on those who are doing the (in my eyes) "right" thing. And those, who are causing the whole problem are not incurring any additional cost and effort. That means, the big industry goes scott free, while the little farmers, who are trying to make a difference are punished even more. Most of them can not even afford the process, thus their produce ends up in the same bucket as the industry.

The second issue is, that this "Certified Non GMO" label is just a US animal. In other countries that is not available. That means, outside of the US you have no idea whether you're getting good or bad stuff!

Well, thankfully, Europe is quite a strong economic power. Thus, if the industry wants to export their stuff to Europe, they have to follow the European guidelines and laws. And, aside of complaining bitterly, and crying at the apronfolds of the WTO, the US can't do much about it!

Some of the food that is packaged to go to Europe ends up being sold here in Panama as well. And, maybe not really surprising when you think of who General Mills, Post, Kraft and these guys are, many of the items that I would consider healthy and that are part of my usual diet are actually GMO infested.

Here are a few pictures of the items I encountered with the oh so cute phrase "Contains bio-engineered food".