Tell Fast Food Companies That We Don't Want GMO Apples!

We've always heard that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." So why would we need a genetically engineered (GMO) apple, when apples are already great just the way nature made them? Say no way to GMO apples today!

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently approved a GMO apple that's engineered to resist browning and bruising. Not only is this GMO apple unnecessary, but it hasn't gone through any independent testing to prove that it is safe to eat. Since the USDA has failed to consider the negative impacts of approving this product, we now need to turn to restaurants and ask them to not sell GMO apples.

We're asking the five biggest apple-selling fast food chains to say no to the GMO apple. Ask McDonald's, Subway, Starbucks, Wendy's and Burger King to pledge to not buy or sell GMO apples!

Fast food chains make up a large portion of the apple market, selling sliced apples and other products that include apples, like pies, salads and oatmeal. By making it clear to these companies that we don't want GMO apples, we can help keep the apples out of the market. Will you add your name to this petition to fast food chains and ask them to not buy GMO apples?

This GMO apple was created using a questionable new engineering technique that "silences" certain genes to make some traits less prominent (like browning after an apple has been sliced). This relatively new technique may have unintended side effects for the health of the plant and for the people who eat these apples:

• Apple trees have some natural defenses against pests and disease, but by changing the genetic makeup of the apples, these defenses might be weakened and lead to less-healthy apple trees. This could result in a greater dependence on chemical treatments and pesticides, and in more pesticides on the apples that we could consume.

   

• Because there hasn't been enough testing, we don't know how this GMO apple may impact people when they eat them. But there is reason to be concerned about apples that don't turn brown, since the browning of apples is a natural indicator of how fresh an apple is. Consumers might end up eating apples that are near or already rotting without being able to tell.

Many apple growers are also worried about how the genetically modified fruit might impact their ability to grow and sell non-GMO apples — the GMO apples might be mixed in with non-GMO apples during processing or at grocery stores, and that could make it harder for farmers to sell their apples in domestic markets and abroad. Help protect consumers and farmers from the potential dangers of GMO apples.

While the USDA has already approved these apples, we can still put pressure on restaurants to not use GMO apples. We've seen this work in the past when McDonald's said they would not use GMO potatoes after they were approved by the USDA, and now we need to put the same pressure on McDonald's, and other fast food chains, to listen to consumers and reject the GMO apple. Sign this petition and make it clear that you do not want GMO apples.

Thanks for taking action,

Caitlin Seeley George

Online Organizer

Food & Water Watch

act(at)fwwatch(dot)org