Attorney Discusses GMO Labeling Lawsuit Against ConAgra

Back in July, GMO Journal spoke with Andrei V. Rado, the plaintiffs’ attorney in the California case against ConAgra Foods Inc. The lawsuit challenges the labeling of ConAgra’s line of Wesson cooking oils which proclaims to be “pure” and “100% natural” despite the allegation that it is made from genetically modified corn and soybeans. The California case is one of the two cases to take on the food giant over its labeling claims. The second case was filed in New York.

In this video, Mr. Rado discusses the nature of the lawsuit and how the potentially deceptive labeling may violate state laws. As Mr. Rado states, “anything that is genetically engineered in the laboratory and takes things from different species is not 100% natural.”

The lawsuit alleges that in declaring a product “100% natural”, a label that is not explicitly defined by the Food and Drug Administration, is bound to confuse some customers who seek to eat healthy and avoid GMOs.

When something that is genetically modified is labeled as 100% natural, we allege that this deprives the consumer of the ability to make that very important personal decision.

  • Amy Pearson

    If you see the ‘USDA Organic’ label you can be assured that 95% or more of the ingredients found in that product is certified organic. Is 95% good enough for you? I say a product is other organic or it isn’t.

  • SH Sweet

    If Monsanto claims their product needs no testing because it is identical to or the ‘same as’ the natural product, how can they identify or track their product in fields they claim are contaminated?

  • James T. Fisher

    The U.S. is attempting to outlaw non-GMO labeling of foods, thereby making it illegal for a non-GMO food product to even claim “non-GMO” on the label. This would result in a global GMO cover-up as consumers are left in the dark about whether their foods are genetically modified or not.