India to Mandate Labeling GMO Ingredients in January

Artist in Doing Nothing/CC BY-SA 2.0

In the latest edition of the daily facepalm: Times of India reports that as of January 2013 food products containing genetically modified ingredients will have to be labeled in India.

Though, like elsewhere, the biotech industry protested, and won some concessions on the labeling scheme regarding package sizes and other factors (read the details at the link above), the thing that strikes me more than anything else is the huge question: If India can do it, why can't the US?

In case you needed reminding, of the world's wealthiest nations, including China, Brazil, and Russia (and now India), only the United States and Canada do not require labeling of GMO crops?even though, in the case of the US, surveys show the vast majority of people would like to know if they are eating genetically modified ingredients.

Check out the map below, from JustLabelIt.org:

? Just Label It

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