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Genetically Modified Foods Need to be Labeled Essay

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There is a battle raging across the United States between consumers who purchase genetically modified foods and the companies that processes these foods through genetic modification. Consumers are demanding that all genetically modified foods are labeled so that they will have information about what ingredients are in these foods. The companies who sell genetically modified foods do not want to label them and are making claims that labeling these foods would raise food prices, hurt farmers, and cause genetically modified foods to gain the reputation of being harmful to humans. Consumers should ignore the claims by companies responsible for producing genetically modified foods and be unrelenting in their insistence that all genetically…show more content…
It is estimated that between sixty to seventy percent of all processed foods sold in supermarkets have at least one genetically engineered ingredient. The labeling of these foods will present consumers with the opportunity to make wise and healthy food choices before purchasing genetically modified foods and serving them to their families. The current labeling regulations in the United States set forth by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires labeling of genetically modified foods if the genetically modified organisms in the food causes a vast change in nutritional property; if a new food has an allergen that consumers would not necessarily expect to be present, such as a peanut protein in a soybean product or if the food contains a toxicant beyond acceptable limits. Early in 2001, the Food and Drug Administration proposed voluntary guidelines for labeling foods that does or does not contain genetically modified ingredients (Bryme). The regulations by the FDA of requiring the labeling of some genetically modified foods does not help, because the consumers want to know the ingredients of all genetically modified foods; what’s in the final products? When consumers are shopping for foods to feed their families, they should be able to identify by reading labels what they are purchasing. Some people suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, allergies or other diseases requiring them to have a strictly regulated diet. Consumers should be
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