To think genetically modified food will now be allowed in our supermarkets?

[ReadyPayerTwo]

One of my biggest fears about the Tory victory and the ability to now 'strike a massive trade deal' that Trump tweeted about just after the 10pm exit poll, is that the European ban on GM foods obviously won't apply in the UK anymore.

Friends and relatives of mine who recently returned from living in the US have said that, unless you can afford to shop in Whole Foods (and who can), the quality and nutritional value of what is all GM fruit and vegetables is incredibly poor and that it's contributed massively to the obesity crisis, as people end up having to eat three times as much to make up for what it lacks in taste or nutrition.

Would it be made clear to consumers if supermarkets started selling GM food - would they have to be labelled as such? Or would we just not be told and find out a couple of years down the line that almost everything is now GM and there was nothing we could do about it?

I've got family in the US, the have gone GF to avoid the GM wheat. GM is everywhere and they can't avoid it - they don't live near a Whole Foods and eat organic as much as possible / grow their own veg etc.

The animal welfare standards are apalling and I don't want chlorine washed chicken.

It is labelled in the US but how can you stop cross contamination - Joe Bloggs has a GM farm and Fred Bloggs has an organic farm next door - that just doesn't work!

Can I just clarify, are you saying we would be importing fruit and veg from the US?

No but standards will drop.

Hormone laden meat worries me.

@Ihopeyourcakeisshit yes that's a scenario I'm envisaging, especially if post-Brexit it proves more cost effective than importing from Europe!

Nobody HAS to eat three times as much meat for taste and nutrition, that's just ridiculous. America has an obesity problem, mostly (IMO) because the country is so big that people hardly walk (outside of major cities) as well as the astronomical healthcare costs.

@inwood what is GF?

Am I missing something? Fairly sure that the EU does not ban GM food? It approves each GM item for sale. I am fairly confident that the current 'no deal' plan is to maintain the current legislation in the short term. I can't imagine this will be deregulated, but the UK may start approving itself rather than going to the EU approved foods.

It won’t apply in the UK anymore but I would be surprised we would accept GM foods. My reason being is that I don’t see how we would be able to trade foods with EU countries when we don’t support the same standards of food? I could be wrong as I’m not sure how much food we export in comparison to importing

The US has an obesity problem because their portion sizes are culturally enormous and their infrastructure isn't set up for walking.

They might have lower standards for food overall but that is absolutely nothing to do with GM, which is something that should be encouraged and has potential to make food vastly more nutritious and environmentally sustainable. Hysteria over GM is so misplaced, it is the future and we need to embrace it if we want to feed the planet.

Well we might. I hope though that there would have to be a vote allowing it first (that gets turned down) especially for gm foods and minimum animal welfare import

Without the restrictions there is a possibility that the uk start importing goods (for example food from the us) from countries that previously wouldn't have been on the table because the rules, monetary and tax etc won't be there that stopped it being seen as a deal worth taking before.

as people end up having to eat three times as much to make up for in taste or nutrition
Do people really believe shite like this? I don't know about the nutrition, but when food is less tasty people eat less of it, not more.
They've got used to bigger portions and fast food, and are less active, for a variety of reasons. Weight control actually comes down to creating between calories consumed, and calories expended, no matter how much people want to deny it.

@feelingverylazytoday well it's borne out in my own experience. If I eat a modestly sized but tasty and nutritious meal I feel full at the end of it.

If I eat something bland and low on nutrition (like a ready meal or fast food) I literally want to eat double that amount.

Obesity is just one example of the potential problems GM food brings though - my main worry is that it's going to become increasingly hard for anyone but the wealthy to maintain a reasonably healthy diet!

I think you need to get out more

one example of the potential problems GM food brings though

Are any of those based in science or just scaremongering? GM is just a faster and more targeted way of doing exactly what humans have done with their food since the beginning of time.

(That leaves aside any issues with certain GM corporations and their unethical practices - completely different issue)

GM food has nothing whatsoever to do with obesity.

Americans are fat because they eat too much fast food and don’t walk anywhere.

And besides, you’re already eating GM crops in the UK so I don’t get what you think is going to change.

With climate change, GM crops are our only hope of avoiding worldwide food insecurity - scientists can modify our crops to grow in hotter, more water-poor environments.

the quality and nutritional value of what is all GM fruit and vegetables is incredibly poor and that it's contributed massively to the obesity crisis, as people end up having to eat three times as much to make up for what it lacks in taste or nutrition

This simply isn’t true. It’s a dangerous lie.

Well said Via honestly it's thus sort of dumb ass, lazy nastiness that lost Remain and then Labour the votes

Yep. Plus bleached eggs etc just not the regulations we have now.

the quality and nutritional value of what is all GM fruit and vegetables is incredibly poor and [has] contributed massively to the obesity crisis

Do you have any backup for this claim? The science sounds pretty ropy to me.

Gm foods are fine. It doesn’t lessen the nutritional value. They’re just modified to last longer and to grow in conditions that they wouldn’t usually grow in.

I have a deep suspicion that the labelling regulations will be "clarified" so that manufacturers don't have to reveal if they are using GM or not. Plus it will probably become some sort of terrorist offence to disclose publicly if food does contain GM. If I were in the US pushing a trade deal, it would be what I would want of the UK.

Still, it's what we all wanted, so at least we can all be happy.

A possible drop in food standards is concerning, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'm more worried about meat standards than GM veg - the dreaded chlorinated chicken and hormone-laden meat. I really don't like the idea of labelling rules changing so you can't tell what you're getting.
I think if that does come to pass then I'll be looking at going mostly veggie and eating seasonally and more simply with occasional meat as a treat rather than an essential which should save enough to swap a lot of my shopping from tesco to local organic farms.
Digging up my front garden to grow veg is another option I've been toying with for a while. Doubt my neighbours would be too amused at that tho

GMO food is already in Britain and it does not taste bland or has lower nutritional values. I don't know where you get your information but you should find alternative sources of information because you have been lied to. I will suggest you go to the library and find a book about the subject instead.

Maybe instead we need to start work on developing a UK produce trademark like other countries have to promote UK made/produced foods. Plus make UK imports and locally made food labelling very clear as to where food is made and whether it is made from local or imported products and whether it is GM.

That is a really better place to start now. I would expect that decreasing the quality of minimum food standards is not in anyone’s interest. Make the choices very clear and let people make their own choices.

The USA is not only the country to watch for quality issues, China is another - melamine in milk, ecoli in fruit and veggies. But being able to have a choice on the shelves and knowing what you are buying helps.

GMO food is already in Britain and it does not taste bland or has lower nutritional values.

So ? A persons choice on what they eat may be based on any number of factors. GMO good might be the tastiest most nutrious thing in the observable universe. People can still chose not to eat it, if they so wish.