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The Center for Food Safety today launched a new mobile application that will help shoppers to quickly and easily identify foods made with ingredients from genetically modified (GM) organisms. The free app, “The Center for Food Safety’s True Food Shoppers Guide”, is available for mobile devices through iTunes and Android Market.
Today, thousands of products on supermarket shelves are made with ingredients from genetically modified (also known as genetically engineered [GE]) crops. But GM foods are not labeled in the U.S., despite warnings from doctors and scientists that these foods may not be safe in the diet or the environment. This lack of mandatory labeling can make it difficult to determine which products are made with GM ingredients and which are not. The new application is designed to give health-and-safety-conscious consumers who wish to avoid GM ingredients the tools they need to make informed purchasing decisions.
The True Food Shoppers Guide also arms consumers with valuable information regarding common GM ingredients, as well as brands to look for, and to look out for. The application includes a “Four Simple Tips” section, which offers easy ways to avoid GM ingredients as they shop to feed themselves and their families, a “Supermarkets and GMOs” section to help consumers identify GM and non-GMO private-label store brands, and a rbGH and rbGH-free dairy guide. Check out this video review of the app on livingmaxwell.com.
The app is available for free on iTunes for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad,
and in the Android Market by searching for “True Food.”
In addition to a list of brands that produce foods with no GM content, the application also offers contact information for companies that do use GM ingredients. This feature enables consumers to personally voice their opposition to the use of GM foods directly to the parties involved. As a result, the app serves not only as a shopping guide and teaching tool, but one that can be used for widespread advocacy as well. The app also has a “Take Action” section allowing people to contact state and federal agencies and officials to demand better regulatory oversight, safety testing and labeling laws for GM foods and crops.
The Center for Food Safety’s True Food Shoppers Guide was compiled
because you have the right to know what’s in your food!
Don’t have a compatible mobile phone? Download our printable Shoppers Guide instead! We are also working on a web-based version of the App that can be accessed from any smart phone. We hope to launch a Blackberry app in the future as well.
We compiled the Shoppers Guide primarily from direct communications with food producers. In some cases, we received company policy statements from consumers who passed these on to us. In addition to written statements, we spoke to many company representatives to clarify or assess their position. Products on the RED list contain ingredients that come from the most common GE crops (corn, soy, canola, cotton). Companies with products on this list have confirmed that their products may have or are likely to be made with GE ingredients, or have not denied using GE foods when given the opportunity to do so. Companies on the GREEN list have made a concerted effort to avoid GE ingredients and have company policies asserting their position on avoiding GE foods.
Features
- Our “Four Simple Tips” section gives you easy ways to avoid genetically modified ingredients in any product
- “What’s New” brings you an always-updated feed of the Center for Food Safety’s latest news and campaign developments on GMOs and other important food issues. You can even share these articles and announcement with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and more, right from the app!
- Our “Action” center brings you our latest action alerts on simple things you can do to demand True Food!
- “Supermarkets and GMOs” lists major supermarket chains across the US and their policies on GMOs and rbGH use. Here you can find non-gmo and rbGH-free store brands, and supermarkets that are entirely non-gmo in their private-label brands!
- You can browse the Shoppers Guide by category (16 categories in all) in a simple “Green” and “Red” list format, or search for products by brand name or food type
- The Shoppers Guide also includes the ability to call or email companies listed in the “Red” (those who do not avoid GM ingredients in their products) to let them know you will not buy their products until they drop GMOs
- Learn about the risks of gm crops and foods, the benefits of and where to buy organics, gm crops in development, rbGH, and more in “More Info”
- Join the CFS True Food Network or our new Mobile Activists list and get updates and action alerts on the most pressing food issues via email or text message! We are over 100,000 members strong, and growing. Add your voice!
- Connect with the CFS True Food Network on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
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Filed under: GE Crops, GE Food, Good News, Organics, Politics and Policy, Take Action, rbGH / rBST
This is great, except I can’t find it on itunes. When is the release date?
You should be able to open it in iTunes here: http://itunes.apple.com/app/true-food/id379459607?mt=8. The release date is July 14, 2010. If the link doesn’t work for you, you should be able to find it by searching for “true food”
That’s great, except I don’t have any of these devices. Do you have this program for free on the web to browse? I don’t get the convenience on the go but it looks like it has some great advantages to compiling my own shopping guides/lists.
We are working on a web version, but you can also download our printable Shoppers Guide (.pdf document) here: http://truefoodnow.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/web_new-ge-booklet.pdf
Thanks, that is great, I can keep that in my purse too. :-)
Any idea about a release for the Blackberry?
We do plan to do a similar app for the Blackberry sometime in the future, but the timing is unknown at this point due to the cost of development. We are working on a web version that could be accessed by any web-enabled phone in the interim.
When can we anticipate this web version? Is there a way I can be notified when the blackberry app becomes available? Once i test your product, i promise to support your organization fully.
Thanks for your support! We will send out an email to our members, and post to our website, when the Blackberry app is completed. The web version should be completed by the end of August, and we’ll also post to this website and alert our members when it’s live.
why is responsibletechnology.org doing the same brochure? are you working together or is there a problem?
We did work together with the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT) to update and print the pocket Non-GMO Shoppers Guide (http://truefoodnow.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/web_new-ge-booklet.pdf) last year. The pocket Guide was originally published in our book, Your Right to Know: Genetic Engineering and the Secret Changes in Your Food, and IRT and CFS collaborated on an updated, stand-alone version, which is why you’ll see it on both sites.
It is too bad that the app is only for those phones. I have been an avid follower of The Center For Food Safety for years and this is app release is dissapointing because I own a blackberry. I can’t be walking around the store with a print out because that’s too inconvienent when you are shopping with kids. This is unfortunate, the app would have made me more involved in advocacy and now I can’t participate. :(
We apologize for the inconvenience. We are planning a Blackberry app in the future, and are working on a web-based version of the app that can be accessed from any web-enabled phone in the interim. Thank you for your support!
[...] At the grocery store, how do you know if the food you are buying has ingredients containing genetically modified organisms? Try this mobile app. [...]
Cannot find new app!
Are you looking on iTunes or Android Market? For iTunes, you can search for “True Food” in the app store on your phone, or find it here on the web: http://itunes.apple.com/app/true-food/id379459607?mt=8
On Android, search for “True Food” in the Market from your phone.
[...] http://truefoodnow.org/2010/07/15/shoppersguideapp/ [...]
Nice to that you provide a program for iphones on genetically engineered foods.
Would be better if you provided a link for this so the rest of us have access to this information.
And talking about food safety….
What about a list of foods produced or made in China.
Where is that list?
Or a list of medicines with ingredients made from china.
Where is that list?
The app is for iPhone and Android operating systems. We also have a .pdf of the guide that can be downloaded and saved on any computer, or printed to take to the market. That guide is here: http://truefoodnow.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/web_new-ge-booklet.pdf
We do not have any lists of foods or medicinal ingredients from China.
Hi I downloaded the driod app but it doesn’t do all those screens you show above, did I miss something?
The Android app works a little differently than the iPhone app shown here. On Andoid phones, the menu is a button on the phone itself. Once you press that buton, you should see all the page options–the GMO Guide, More Info, etc.
[...] what they are eating. To aid consumers where regulatory oversight has failed, CFS created its new True Food Shoppers Guide Mobile Application available for free through iTunes and Android [...]
Just got it and installing. Looking forward to working with it while shopping for clients and class… though, I try my absolute best to go fresh, 100% of the time! Thanks for this! We all need to be educated and take care of our bodies!
[...] Want even more sustainable food at your fingertips? Following in the steps of FishPhone, The Center for Food Safety has debuted its mobile app, the True Food Shopper’s Guide. The app has a shopper’s tips, a guide to thousands of genetically modified foods to avoid, and a list of green food companies and supermarkets. iPhone and Android cell phone users can download the free guide by searching for “True Food,” or follow the link below. Take your education and sustainable eating to a new level and download this app today: http://truefoodnow.org/2010/07/15/shoppersguideapp/ [...]
It’s really cool that you have an app that tells which products have GM ingredients in them, but is the list on the website. I would like to know the list off of the website and where is it here?
OH, the list is above! Thanks! Could it be more conveniently located?
Also, where’s Kirkland Signature brand (Costco)?
Kirkland Signature brand from Costco has some non-GMO and rbGH-free options, but not all. Kirkland Signature Organics are non-GMO, and Kirkland milk is rbGH-free. They have no statement on GMOs or rbGH on their website, but you can also call them at (425) 313-8100 to ask about their policies.
[...] Today, thousands of products on supermarket shelves are made with ingredients from genetically modified (also known as genetically engineered [GE]) crops. But GM foods are not labeled in the U.S., despite warnings from doctors and scientists that these foods may not be safe in the diet or the environment. This lack of mandatory labeling can make it difficult to determine which products are made with GM ingredients and which are not. The new application is designed to give health-and-safety-conscious consumers who wish to avoid GM i… [...]
This is great. I just picked up the printed brochure just a couple of weeks ago but it’s always at home. And now I can have it with me as I’m shopping. Thanks!!
[...] Posted July 28, 2010 The Center for Food Safety has launched a new mobile application to help shoppers quickly and easily identify foods made with ingredients from genetically modified (GM) organisms. The free app, “The Center for Food Safety’s True Food Shoppers Guide”, is available for mobile devices through iTunes and Android Market. Read more. [...]
This is an excellent app! Thanks!
[...] Center for Food Safety: The True Food Shoppers Mobile Application [...]
I want to thank everyone who took their time to create this app. I don’t have much $ to move and shake, but this is a way to make a difference.
Thank you
How can I get a list of GM?