that the last year have been greatly influenced by the polemics surrounding GMO labelling. My major concern is the educational component that seems to be missing from this argument. Many people do not entirely understand what GMOs are and the benefits and consequences of eating them or the processes enacted to allow for a pesticide-free version of a highly common vegetable or fruit in the public’s repertoire of groceries. In this paper, I will argue for required labelling of foods that contains either GMOs or is GMO free. Labelling means decisions, decisions mean trade-offs, but I do not want for people, in the most ideal scenario, to have to make these decisions without first being armed with the sufficient knowledge to make a decision.
When I see a label on a food product, normally it is to tell me that this product contains an allergen, or does not contain an allergen. Depending on my health needs, I can move forward, either buying it or abstaining. It is clear in this scenario what my risk is. GMO labelling, I believe, would occupy a similar realm for the average consumer. GMO’s, however, do not prompt the same analytical and experiential thinking about risk as, for instance, an allergen. When you have an allergy to something or know someone who does, you can see how it affects them physiologically, the experiences can vary from minor annoyances to extremely painful and possibly deadly. No one can claim those same associations, an availability of these kinds of
The battle over whether food with GMOs should be labeled as such or not, continuez in The Battle Over GMOs by Alessandra Potenza illustrates what a GMO is and why they need to be labeled. First of all GMO stands for genetically modified organism, meaning GMOs are organisms that have been genetically modified to include a gene from another species to produce a certain trait. The reason that some people are very upset at the whole GMO thing is because some companies that include GMOs in their products are refusing to label the fact that they use GMOs. Outrage has sparked everywhere over this and people are demanding that companies using GMOs in their products must label them. The companies on the other hand are claiming that they have a right to privacy and are claiming that the FDA, which stands for Food and Drug Administration, have approved the GMO usage in their products.. This reader believes that we the people have a right to know what is in our food and decide if we still want to consume it.
A GMO is a genetically modified organism that goes through the process of genetic engineering. This is when genes of one organism are extracted, altered, and then artificially placed into another organism to then grow. We typically see GMOs in the food we consume every day. These foods include fruits and vegetables, however the most common organisms that are genetically engineered include, corn, soy, and cotton. It is ultimately the unnatural cross breeding of plants, animals, bacteria, and virus genes (Non-GMO Project). But now why is there a debate for placing a label to notify consumers of GMOs in their foods? Do we know the potential harm that GMOs can cause? We have the right to know what we are putting into our bodies and what is found in our everyday foods.
Many food companies frown upon the idea of having to put labels on their foods because consumers will not want their product if their are too many GMOs in the product. If food companies were forced to put GMO labels on their products they may feel inclined to put less GMO in their products to cause consumer happiness. With labels on the food products consumers will feel more confident with their purchase to consume that food. Which would cause sales to fly through the roof for many food companies, especially organic food companies. GMO labeling influences consumer behavior, “...the majority of supermarket employees believed that the presence of non-GMO labeling influenced consumer behavior in some way, with 52.9% reporting that it impacted all consumers, 17.6% asserting that it mattered to those who were knowledgeable and interested in food without genetic modification, and only 5.9% feeling that their clientele would not be interested because of its demographics.” (Wunderlich). According to a survey done by Wunderlich, Gatto and Mangano where they investigate the current Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) and organic labeling policies and to determine the impact on consumer choice. They found: “There is a need for clearer labeling policies regarding GMO foods. If GMO foods were labeled more clearly, consumers would be able to make more educated purchasing decisions and
Don’t you just love the smell of bread and butter and the delicious taste of brownies and muffins? Well, now more than 18 million Americans no longer can enjoy the great taste of these gluten foods, thanks to GMOs. GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are the result of a laboratory process where genes are taken from one species and inserted into another in an attempt to obtain a wanted characteristic, however, no one knows the long-term effect of GMOs. Genetically engineered foods are linked to gluten disorders and are known to cause birth defects. So why do people keep eating them? Consumers still inadvertently eat these foods, because there is no warning label to educate them otherwise. Foods with GMO genes need to be labeled so that people won’t unknowingly consume these genetically modified ingredients without their consent.
The new GMO Labeling bill S. 764, that was passed July 2016 after being tacked onto the National Sea Grant College Program Act, requires companies to disclose their inclusion of GMOs in their products directly on the label. This legislation panders to consumers that are already against GMOs while creating more economic strain on consumers who cannot choose to eat non-GMO due to budgetary restrictions. This bill will have serious implications not only in our economy and agricultural industry, but many economies and agricultural industries worldwide. Recent studies of how extensive the effect of this bill will be on the consumers of the United States are estimating upwards of $1,050 annual increase in our grocery spending to accommodate. The damage occurs when food producers that use GMOs inevitably follow the trend of agricultural industries before them and switch to non-GMO ingredients if they believe that it could potentially save public relations and customer loyalty. These switches have grievous implications, including triggering a setback on technology currently being developed and technology that could be developed in the future. 70% of products consumed in the U.S. have genetically engineered materials in them. These labeling laws do not just affect some consumers. In fact, those who are advocating strongly for this labeling system are likely not going to be impacted to the same degree as lower income Americans. This is due to lower income Americans not having the
There are varied arguments that favor or are against compulsory labeling of genetically engineered food products. Those who argue for the labeling of such products argue that consumers have a right to know what is contained in their food, particularly food products for which there have been health and environmental concerns (Caswell 26). Compulsory labeling will permit consumers to identify and avoid those food products that may cause them problems. On the contrary, those who argue against mandatory labeling point out that
The debate over genetically modified foods continues to haunt producers and consumers alike. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are foods that have been modified through bioengineering to possess certain characteristics. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or increased nutritional content (Whitman, 2000). The debate continues to grow as to whether these genetically altered foodstuffs are the answer to hunger in the coming years, or whether we are simply children playing with something that we do not have the capacity to understand. One of the biggest debates in the GMO issue is whether producers need to use labeling of
Ever since their entrance onto the consumer market in the last two decades of the twentieth century, genetically modified organisms (often referred to as GMOs) have been getting mixed reviews from the public. Genetically modified consumer products (primarily food) have pushed the barriers of some people's comfort levels. Born out of either a lack of knowledge or a sincere concern for public health or the environment, a consumer rights movement has been planted around the world pushing for labeling of genetically modified food products. This movement has matured in many places to a degree where interest groups have successfully lobbied governments into adopting criteria for labeling transgenic food
There are many types of groceries in the local super market. Shopping at the supermarket, mostly every shopper would like to buy foods that are healthy. Of course the first thing that pops into your mind is fruit and vegetables from the fresh produce section. But in the modern day fresh produce are too expensive to some people, so they take the cheaper alternative way to eat healthy. The label of an item catches your eye saying it’s healthy and it’s really cheap, but in reality it’s not healthy at all since it contains genetically modified foods.
GMO’s have so many myths behind them and though some of the rumors out there may be true others are not. A big rumor out there is that GMO’s cause cancer and allergies. As the world makes many strides in the medical fields we are noticing many diet related medical problems and of course they are blamed on GMO’s, but is this assumption fair? There is a possibility that because we are extracting genes from one organism and placing it in another there are risks involved causing toxins and allergens to be expressed. However the foods that are produced that are placed on the market go through extensive testing through the Federal Drug Administration and if they feel the product is too toxic for consumption it will not be placed on the market. Another
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) has created a name for itself by making it a wide spread issue in the food industry. GMO’s are organisms that have genetic material that was artificially edited in laboratories through genetic engineering. This semi new way of making food has shown to have both positives and negatives, creating a huge conversation around genetically modified organisms. This big conversation is whether or not products that are affiliated with GMO’s should be labeled. This has been an on going debate, where the public seems to have split decisions on the topic. People that disagree with the mandatory labeling of these products main argument around the subject seems to be that the labels would imply that the foods are not safe.
The article reviews that, Vermont's GMO labeling became a law. Thus Vermont wants other states to support their way to go. The usefulness of this article is that it demonstrates how Vermont is changing their way of living in a good way and want others do to the same. The bias for this source is for GMO labeling. Information that this source gives me to put into my article is showing Vermont's accomplishment and show the positively you can get from it with just GMO- labeling. I will use this source to show the good outcomes with just switching to GMO- labeling.
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) is the newest way of dealing with plants. It’s a way of speeding up the process we have done for so many years called conventional plant breeding. The problem is the consumers are basically eating foods that are made up of different DNA’s. For example, if a popular fish at the market cannot always be in season. These scientists will pull out DNA of other fishes that can survive through the toughest weathers, then they’ll add some salmon DNA to make it taste better. After this whole process is done it’s shipped back to markets for consumers to buy and eat. Yet, they don’t know what they are actually eating which is why GMO labeling is important. Some fruits or vegetables contain DNA of fishes
I believe that GMO foods should have labels indicating that they are made from genetic material. This would positively support the society, the environment, and the economy. The entire world would benefit by companies simply putting more informing labels on their products. The most important aspect of this question is the positive social consequence of putting labels on GMO foods. People would be alerted to “the potentials to provoke allergic reaction, gene transfer, and outcrossing” (Frequently Asked Questions on Genetically Modified Foods). This could be life changing in some cases in case there was a genetically modified food that was changed with something that might cause a severe allergic reaction to someone. This would also be helpful
The branches of our society all play large roles in the overall organization of our culture. With the members of our government, the people being governed, and many non-profits, there are many ways to instigate change in our society. However, the magnitude of people involved often makes this process of change take a long time to be put into effect. With GMO’s, for example, the mandatory labeling and regulation of them should have been an instantaneous action, but through large corporation funding, has been kept a secret business deal outside of public eye. This detrimental decision has led to the disappointing result of allowing a multi billion dollar chemical corporation own a majority of the United States food supply. This corporation, of