New study proves that GMO labeling won't affect food prices

(http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com) Yesterday, Just Label It, a coalition of 650 organizations in support of labeling genetically engineered food products, released a new independent study showing that GMO labeling would not cause higher food prices.

The study author, Kai Robertson, used publicly available information and her own experience as a food marketing expert who worked for the Food Marketing Institute in the past to reach these results.

"This just confirms what most consumers already know," Just Label It executive director Scott Farber said while announcing the study during a conference call, according to foodnavigator-usa.com. "Adding a few words to the back of a package won't add prices at the supermarket shelf; in particular, there is no evidence that label changes increase the cost of making food."

According to Robertson's study, "Why Label Changes Don't Affect Food Prices," supermarket pricing is based on a variety of complex factors, most important of which are consumer demand and competition, not the wholesale cost of a product. Furthermore, product label changes have little to no effect on the product pricing. In fact, food manufacturers often change their labels for many reasons, such as for marketing purposes, reflecting a change in ingredients or updating regulatory information. Because of this, companies generally order less than a year's worth of product labeling at a time.

GMO labeling would allow consumers to know what they're spending their money on and putting into their bodies. The only possible negative consequence of this is that big biotech companies like Monsanto, who has recently contributed $4.6 million to the No on 522 GMO labeling campaign in Washington, might see a decline in sales, as people choose to pay for and eat foods that are actually good for them.