Food Companies Need to Label Their Food Essay

The article “Not in my fridge” by Jeffery M. Smith elaborately discussed the health hazards of genetically modified (GM) products. This article has opened my eyes and revealed my ignorance of how unmindful of what I have eaten for years. I was very alarmed by many of the things I have learned in this article. After learning the side-effect of GM food, I was certainly concerned for our health. Moreover, learning that the biotech company’s strong stand in advocate of GM products as well as the United States governments and the Food and Drug administration (FDA) cover up of serious safety issues of GM highly disturbed me.

The introduction of chemicals in daily life has been met with an abundance of confusion and fear. When introducing the world of chemicals to food, the knee jerk reaction is often to shun the very idea. Of course, this response is to be expected. The word chemical is mentally correlated with unnatural materials formed in a lab or a radiation riddled mess. However, the negative effects of chemicals in food has been exacerbated over the years. Fear has driven public consciousness to ignorance. Corn, for example, is subject to pesticide treatment—one being Glyphosate. Said Glyphosate has been accused of being a carcinogen to humans. While such a fearful correlation may cause concern, there is a question on the sentiments validity. While questioning the effectiveness of chemicals is understandable, the use of chemicals is not only a common tool in the food industry’s arsenal, but a safe practice conducted on the food sold and consumed every day.

Monsanto is an American agrochemical corporation which manufactures pesticides and GMO crops. One of the most well recognized herbicides is Monsanto’s Roundup, which contains the carcinogen glyphosate. To prevent from killing the crops when farmers apply Roundup to their fields, Monsanto invented GMO versions of many staple crops such as corn, soybeans, and cotton which resist Roundup. Like the weeds, these GMO crops still absorb glyphosate, however the crops are able to stay alive through changes in their genetic makeup which make them herbicide resistant. The herbicide tolerance of certain crops has been adopted because it, “simplifies weed control to the use of a single herbicide and a flexible and easy management strategy” (Labrada, 2003), as well as decreasing the cost of weed control programs. As a result, Monsanto bought out most small farms and now owns 80% of the U.S. market share of corn and 93% of the U.S. market share of soy, which are then sold to modern food processing. Upwards of 75% of the processed food on American supermarket shelves contain genetically engineered ingredients. Not only are Americans consuming massive amounts of GMOs, which pose a huge health risk themselves, they are also consuming massive amounts of glyphosate, a chemical known to cause cancer and birth defects (Kruger, 2014). If society stopped consuming carcinogens, the cancer epidemic will be

“In 2010, Russian biologist Alexey V. Surov released the results of a study testing the effects of Monsanto’s genetically modified soy on hamsters. After monitoring three generations over a two year period, third generation hamsters not only lost the ability to reproduce, but even began growing hair inside their mouths” (Gardener). Gardener provides evidence from a biologist’s study based on only one type of GM food, which was soy, to see the differences that would occur during the whole process of feeding GM food to hamsters. Throughout the study the biologist found that after three whole generations the hamster off springs could not reproduce anymore and observed that there was hair growing in their mouths, this was a genetic disorder that occurred throughout the three generations. “A scientific study published last year concluded that eating genetically modified corn (GM corn) and consuming trace levels of Monsanto’s Roundup chemical fertilizer was linked with rats developing shockingly large tumors, widespread organ damage, and premature death” (Adams). This study was published in 2012 and is also

The memo will be about the new rules for Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplements Fact Labels. This new rule was a proposal, which was done according to the Food and Drug Administration. I will have the memo broken into a few main points. The main points will go over the main idea of the piece and go into the detail about each one. The first main idea of the memo will be about going into detail in the decision of the Food and Drug Administration to see why they are making the changes to the rule. Next, I will go into how there are quite a few organizations which are very affected because of the new rule change. Lastly, I will go into detail about all the new things, the people, and organizations affected by these changes in the rule.

The food industry utilizes genetically modified organism in almost every single product that one consumes. Americans tend to go with these food options because it is cheaper and easier to access. However, not only does this option contribute to the nationwide issue of obesity, it also damages the human body in the long run. As these discoveries are quite new to the country, there has not been enough time to survey and analyze the long-term effects of GMO consumption. The concern for the long-term negative consequences of the poison being fed may soon outweigh the benefits of the cheaper alternative. (Fukuyama 118). GMO consumption infiltrates the human body and plants a seed of unknown side effects for years to come. The world is unfamiliar with the long-term consequences and one will not be able to note until a couple of more

More and more consumers are becoming concerned with what they eat, especially when their food comes from a vague source and processed with unknown techniques. It makes it very difficult to try and regulate what goes into each and everyone’s bodies if the package labeling on food products does not perfectly reflect the nutritional value within. With food industries leaving out certain information, and/or not making it very visible, it can lead to increased public health problems including allergies and diabetes.

The FDA has declared biotech crops safe, even though, stakeholders’ are concern with the toxicity of Monsanto’s genetically modified plants that have the ability of producing its own is Roundup Ready herbicide gene (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2015). According to Ferrell, Fraedrich, and Ferrell, 2015, the stakeholders have major concerns with these issues since there is not any real proof that the gene doesn’t have a major effect upon its consumer once ingested (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2015). Furthermore, the FDA’s statement that genetically modified foods are healthy for the consumer is not enough to convince the stakeholders when the science of Monsanto process and technology is all so new and young. Thus, the FDA does not

In August 1998 the first controversy was sparked, especially in Europe, by a report from a leading nutrition researcher, Dr. Arpad Pusztai, concerning the safety of GM foods. Pusztai claimed that GM food fed rats showed stunted growth and weak immune systems. His report, however, was greatly criticized and rejected by many scientists because of lack of substantial evidence (Pusztai 1). Nevertheless, the report opened up an area of contemplation. In May 2005, a report published by Monsanto, a leading biotech firm, confirmed differences in kidney sizes and blood composition of rats fed with GM corn (Lendman 1). Although these documented reports are limited to laboratory settings, the results do point to a possibility of health hazards in the long run. It is evident that GM foods require more research before they are safe for consumption because if the symptoms do arise, it will affect a wide range of consumers and the damage will be impossible to overcome. Apart from direct health hazards, there are concerns over the emergence of insecticide resistant weeds and pests because of GM foods (Weaver 160). Since certain species of GM crops are resistant to insecticides, they allow farmers to spray more chemicals in order to avoid weeds and pests from destroying their harvests. However, since all living organisms are biological entities

Nutrition is a vital part of everyone’s life. What people chose to put into their body dictates whether their nutrition benefits or jeopardizes their health. Many people worry about overly indulging in carbs or sodium, but the greater threat in our grocery stores. Sadly, many of the fruits, vegetables and meats people eat are genetically modified. There have been many studies conducted involving the effects of Genetically Modified Organisms (or GMOs), some include “creation of new allergens, increase in toxicity, and a decrease in nutritional value” (Paarlberg,Philip). The consumption of GMO products can cause harm to those with food allergies, some may not have an allergic reaction to the organic form of a certain food, but after the genetic modification the foods have new possible life threatening components to them. As for plants, when genetically modified they have a metabolic response to the stress of having its DNA morphed and the result is an increase in the plant toxicity. This means genetically modified plants have the potential to poison those that consume it. Genetic modification also causes fruits and vegetables that were once nutritious to become as healthy as foods rich in carbohydrates. Genetically Modified Organisms have progressed too far in the U.S. to stop, but if the Food and Drug Association provide accurate and informative labeling for consumers the results would bridge the gap of misinformation.

I think that there should be labels and laws that require restraurants and fast food places to post nutritional infromation, including calories, fat content, on their menus because people need to know what they are eating and possibly ruining their bodys with. Some poeple have bad health issues and if they intake or not get enough fat or calories then they could die or become really sick.

Label your menus for the sake of man kind! Labeling your menu and other items will be a good step in the right direction when it comes to health of people. By labeling the menus and other items you allowing people to see how many calories they are consuming and they can see what they are putting in their bodies. It is also a proven fact that healthier people are happier and are more energetic than the average person. By seeing what is in the food they are eating it could help them decide to cut down and eat less. Labeling food is so important that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made it mandatory to be label food and provide the daily value that way you can track your nutrient intake. So labeling food can help you see what you are eating and the amount of calories you have consumed, make you happier and healthier along with more energetic, and cut down on the amount of food you take in.

Food and Chemical Toxicology retracted a paper that linked the herbicide Roundup and Roundup-tolerant GM corn to cancer and premature death in rats.Eating genetically modified organisms increases the risks for cancer and other diseases.

There has been a long debate concerning the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs); whether it imposes a risk not only to our environment and to our bodies when ingested over a long period of time. GMO corporations have debated against these topics and have desperately tried to convince consumers that their products are safe when in reality they do more harm than good. A study by Dr. Oraby published through the Turkish Journal of Biology, found that albino rats on a genetically modified based diet showed significant damage to the liver, kidneys and reproductive system, and showed abnormalities in just 90 days (267).

During the last few decades, the field of genetics has been significantly advanced. One of these advancements is the understanding of how genes affect an organism. Through this understanding, geneticists have begun to alter the natural genes found in food. The altercation of genes in food has given these foods the name genetically modified. Currently, the affect of genetically modified food on humans and the environment is a controversial topic among geneticists and environmentalists worldwide. This paper examines the controversy surrounding genetically modified food in the United States and abroad.