As the spread of com mer cial ized GE food prod ucts mount, the num ber of peo ple exposed to GE foods glob ally has grown. This makes truth in label ing of GE food ingre di ents increas ingly fun da men tal to pre serv ing con­sumer choice and pro tect ing per sonal health. The CFS GE Food Labeling Laws map pro­vides an instant overview on the advance of label ing man dates across the globe, and will con tinue doc u ment ing the growth of GE label­ing as more nations estab lish these laws. As detailed on the map, India will join the ros ter of nations requir ing GE label ing in 2013.

“One quick glance at the map and you know the U.S. is truly lost on GE label ing,” said CFS exec u tive direc tor, Andrew Kimbrell. “With all we know about the human health and envi ron­men tal impacts of GE prod ucts, it’s encour ag­ing to see the num ber of nations that have embraced label ing. Yet, at the same time it’s frus trat ing and offen sive that Americans are denied the infor ma tion about their food that those in Kenya and Saudi Arabia receive.”

Despite polls con sis tently show ing up to 90% of Americans favor GE food label ing, efforts sup port ing label ing in the U.S. have been unsuc cess ful to-date. In November 2011, CFS filed a ground break ing legal peti tion with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration demand ing the agency requir ing GE label ing. Currently, over 1 mil lion peo ple have joined the petition.

Additionally, twenty states have con sid ered bills requir ing label ing for or pro hibit ing GE food over the past three years. On November 6th, California’s Prop 37 will give vot ers the oppor tu nity to join the cit i zens of 61 nations across the globe who have the infor ma tion and the law ful power to choose whether GE foods will be a part of their daily diet.

“Global GE label ing laws are spring ing up because both gov ern ments and cit i zens alike instinc tively under stand we all have the basic human right to know what we put in our bod­ies and where it came from,” said Kimbrell. “If food man u fac tur ers and elected offi cials don’t want to put the facts of food ingre di ents on prod uct labels, you can bet some thing is very wrong.”

The inter ac tive, color-coded GE Food Labeling Laws map offers a quick, nav i ga ble guide of those coun tries that have man dated GE foods label ing laws, and the strength of each pol icy. It also rec og nizes those coun tries that have banned GE foods completely.

A link to the map can be found here.