German shoppers will soon see new labels in the marketplace that make it easier to avoid genetically engineered ingredients. Already, the European Union (EU) requires the labeling of ingredients derived from transgenic crops, labels like "produced from genetically modified soya." Although this practice drives many in the U.S. food industry crazy, especially those who export to Europe, these labels have long been the envy of the 90 percent of consumers in the U.S. who want GE ingredients labeled.

Germany's new label was approved last week and is expected to reach consumers in March. The law extends to animal products, where meat, eggs, milk, and cheese derived from animals not fed GE feed will earn the "GM free" label as well.

In the U.S., "GMO free" labels (and similar claims) can be found on numerous brands, especially those that target "natural food" shoppers, products you'd find at stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to publish a final rule on labels, but did provide draft guidance for voluntary labeling of foods derived from genetic engineering in 2001.

Companies opposing labels have unsuccessfully pressured FDA to take legal action against companies making "GMO free" claims based on this draft guidance and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 that deems "mislabeling" illegal. (In fact, Monsanto's recent failure to convince the Federal Trade Commission and FDA to ban "rBGH-free" labels at the federal level is behind its efforts to ban hormone-free labels at the state level, for those of you following Envirovore's rBGH labeling posts.)

Because FDA believes GE food does not differ from conventional food (it stands by a "substantially equivalent" policy), labeling of GE ingredients in the U.S. is not required, which is curious: GE products are similar enough to their conventional counterparts to not require labeling in the marketplace, but unique enough to deserve a patent.

Although U.S. consumers are not likely to join the global community that enjoys mandatory GE food labels any time soon, support for these initiatives is growing. For instance, Alaska passed the nation's first-ever labeling legislation for GE food in 2005. The law requires both unpackaged and packaged transgenic fish to be "conspicuously labeled to identify the fish or fish product as a genetically modified fish or fish product." The FDA is considering an application to approve transgenic salmon that are engineered to grow up to 30 times faster than wild salmon.

Labeling will continue to be at the heart of many agricultural biotechnology debates, and for good reason: we have a right to know what's in (and not in) the food we buy.

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