Jennifer Garner and Gisele Bundchen attended an event last night to support the Just Label It project, which is advocating for federal mandates of food labeling for genetically modified consumer products. Both discussed the importance of transparency in the food industry, something that is sorely lacking when it comes to genetically modified food. Garner said that she’s able to buy non-GMO foods (she probably shops at Whole Paycheck Foods) but that the rest of the country doesn’t have that luxury. She also talked about growing her own food and helping her children understand the origins of their food. You can see a brief video interview with Garner on E! Online.

Garner on why she got involved with the cause
My friend Gisele and I are fed up with being kept in the dark about GMO and non-GMO labeling,” Garner said. “I got involved because she said, ‘Do you know what’s happening?’ She’s a firecracker. She said, ‘You have to educate yourself.

It’s easy for me to shop at places where foods are labeled. Only 3% of the food we produce is non-GMO. But if that 3% is available to you, you kind of take that for granted, but the rest of the country is being fed food – certainly all of the animals that are being turned into our meat, they’re all being fed food that’s been genetically modified.

How Garner educates her children about food
I cook for my kids, and we have a garden. We try to grow whatever we can, although I can’t say we have the hugest crop in the world, but I do try to pay close attention and I do my best.

But we talk about our food, we grow food, we talk about what goes into it and how hard it is. They planted it, they water it, they take pictures next to it. I’m a geek.

On what Garner cooks for her kids
I make everything. Roasted chicken and mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade bread, corn on the cob, you know, whatever.

Gisele on GMO labeling
This is a very important cause to me as an individual, as a parent and as a mother. I am here tonight because I believe we have the right to know what’s in our food.

Food sustains our bodies, minds and souls, and as a mother, I feel it is my responsibility to know what I am feeding my family. We need transparency in our food industry.

[From US Magazine and E! Online]

I’ve heard reports claiming the GMO foods are no riskier and that people are overreacting to the potential threat. However in the EU GMO foods are very strictly regulated to the point where most GMO crops are banned. The way I understand it, it’s not about the risk to human health so much as the potential agricultural issues that come up with GMO crops, such as cross contamination. Plus, we simply don’t know the long term effects of GMO foods on human health. At the very least we can have labeling for foods to help inform consumers. I eat non-organic vegetables from the grocery store, (organic veggies don’t last as long, are more expensive, and aren’t more nutritionally valuable) but I do think this is a worthy cause. It’s not necessarily going to get me to buy non-GMO food, but I think consumers should be informed about it.

Good for Garner for growing her own vegetables with her family and teaching her children where their food comes from. I’m not that ambitious and am not a gardener, but I appreciate it when people grow their own food. It’s a cause that Michelle Obama has helped champion, too. Children should also know what an environmental burden it is to raise animals for meat. I feel like I should mention that on Earth Day. If we can reduce our meat consumption and substitute local meat where possible we can reduce our impact on the environment.

I believe we have a right to know what is in our food. #justlabelit #GMOlabeling. Eu acredito que nós temos o direito de saber o que tem em nossa comida. #poenorotulo

A photo posted by Gisele Bündchen (@giseleofficial) on Apr 21, 2015 at 2:04pm PDT

Jennifer Garner & @giseleofficial are partnering up to fight against GMOs – read their quotes: http://t.co/hCgTybdLAL pic.twitter.com/KjbxdyQoL1

— JustJared.com (@JustJared) April 22, 2015

photo credit: FameFlynet and Instagram