Mandatory Food Labeling

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.

Mandating the labeling of GMOs is not ethical because it would be a waste of time. Not every many people actually read the labels of the food they are so used to eating. What is the point of labeling non-harmful GMOs, if very few will actually understand and connect the dots to what that is? The mandating of labeling GMOs in Congress now, it is up to them whether it is necessary to them or not to add

The Federal Government should require labeling of GMO’s on genetically modified foods. The people deserve to know what they put in their bodies. Some of the food is very unhealthy and some people are completely unaware of that fact. Many food companies do not put out all the information about what goes into the food in which we consume, if the Federal government were to require labeling of all GMO foods then the people could be well educated about what they put inside their bodies, and know if it is good for them or not. GMO stands for genetically modified foods, a genetically modified food is “..an organism whose genome has been altered by the techniques of genetic engineering so that its DNA contains one or more genes not normally found

Foods with GMO ingredients need to be labeled because they are bad for your health. GMOs are not proven to be safe in the long run. The FDA has not run any tests to tell whether or not GMOs are safe. GMOs are linked to birth defects, and to Gluten disorders. According to USRTK, “ The FDA does not require independent pre-market safety testing for genetically engineered food. As a matter of practice, the agrichemical companies submit their own studies to the FDA as part of a

Whether or not to require labeling of GM foods is a major issue in the persistent debate over the risks and benefits of foods crops that are produced using biotechnology. Bills requiring compulsory labeling have been introduced and proposed in different levels, but not evenly implemented. Some of the common genetically engineered crops include soya beans, canola, corn and cotton. The US Food and Drug Administration policy on the labeling of GM food requires labeling is the food has significantly distinct nutritional property (US FDA par 2). Further, labeling is required if the GM food product includes an allergen that consumers may not expect to find in such a product, or if the product contains a toxicant that is beyond acceptable limits (US FDA par 3).

The advancement of technology has allowed our generation to genetically modify food for what is believed to be beneficial to consumers. The environmental and health effects of genetically modified foods have generated controversy about whether these foods are safe. With such advances, the use of genetically modified food is expanding, even though they 're unlabeled. Genetically modified foods should be labeled because of the possible health, environmental, and economic risks. Once a consumer knows what they are paying for, it is fair to produce and market such foods.

The FDA does not require companies in the food industry to provide any labeling for their product if it contains GMOs. Many of the scientists that support genetic engineering claim that GM foods are safe for human consumption. But the practice of genetically engineering an organism in a lab to possess certain qualities is far from natural. There are several reasons that scientists are working to genetically engineer many plant and animal species. Scientists claim that they are genetically engineering many animals so that they have pharmacological qualities that may benefit human health. (Food-borne illnesses) There is a risk of transferring a disease from animals to humans. Much like the problems with using antibiotics in animals, engineering an animal to be resistant to certain viruses could result in super bugs or more antibiotic resistant viruses. Some animals are being genetically engineered so that they are better for marketing. Chickens, for example, are being engineered to grow larger breast. Cattle are being modified so that they grow faster and are even engineered so that they produce less pollution; supposedly a plus for the environment. Certain species of fish, such as salmon, are being engineered so that they produce more of the healthy fat, omega-3. This may seem innocuous enough, but these animals are being genetically engineered in ways that would primarily benefit the farmers and

Fats, calories, and unhealthy food, these are all things that are in are foods and without labeling to tell us how much in in there we will never know which foods are healthy and unhealthy. So I have come to state facts and details on why food labelling should be a law and should be enforced.

Do you find the labels on your favorite snacks to be helpful to most consumers? Many would answer this question yes, and argue that labels contain important information that all buyers should know for health or safety reasons. While this is true, this argument should not apply to GMO labeling. GMOs, of genetically modified organisms, are foods with altered genes from biotechnological techniques. They are used to help foods to be preserved, or prevent certain pests from eating or infecting them, or even to have other desired and beneficial traits. While many may disagree, including use of these GMOs on food labels is completely ineffective. They make GMOs appear to be foreign and dangerous. There are already organic foods for those who are suspicious of genetically altered foods that cause harm. These labels would also make buyers spend more money down the road. A bill to label GMOs would cause multiple issues for producers and buyers everywhere.

Genetically Engineered foods (GMO’s) hurts the U.S. as a whole from multiple aspects, goes against what people want, therefore the production of these foods needs to be eliminated. Genetically modified organisms make up a lot of the food in the U. S market today. Creating genetically modified organisms harms the environment. Consuming GMO’s can cause harmful health risks in the long run. Not labeling GMO’s the FDA is creating financial destruction in industries. The FDA seems to not put the peoples wants in mind. As a country people have to start and contribute to the elimination of GMO’s across the nation.

The idea of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been a controversy for the past several years. Some groups claim that they are perfectly safe and possibly even better than organic foods, while other groups contradict that and say that GMOs are harmful to both the environment and the people that consume them. One of the questions that still hangs in the air through all the debates and protests is “should GMOs be labelled?”

According to Julia Diaz, the author of GMO which is an ebook in Encyclopedia Britannica Online, this is the case in the United States. For many years, it has been a hot topic that has been debated multiple times but at the end, the US Food and Drug Administration concluded that the consumption of GM foods is safe, even after being told the effects of them due to new allergies. However, Europe is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. From the late 1990s, Europe started addressing the need to label GM products. In the early 2000s, it was required to label any and all GM foods and organisms that had a GM content of at least 0.9%. According to Peter Denton, the other author of GMO : Science and Technology, labelling a product comes with its own problems and debates. According to Denton, some governments state that is the GM food is more or less equivalent to normal foods, they do not need to be labeled due to its high similarities to non GM foods. One example is in the United States itself. Even if a food contains GMOs, it is eligible for being labeled GMO - free because it is similar to a food with no GM. According to Denton, there is no requirement for labeling and it is prefered to not be labeled because it is possible that religious beliefs and health concerned people will stay away from them if they are given a choice. This way, something that is super cheap but unhealthy will never be sold due to people who are conscious of what goes in their body. On the other hand, places like Europe and China are required to label if something contains GMOs. Allergies in the USA are more common than ever in the USA due to GMOs not being required to be

Leaving GMO foods unlabeled can have effects the consumer wasn't prepared for. According to an article by Jeffery Smith on responsibletechnology.org, "numerous health problems increased after GMOs were introduced in 1996. The percentage of Americans with three or more chronic illnesses jumped from 7% to 13% in just 9 years; food allergies skyrocketed, and disorders such as autism, reproductive disorders, digestive problems, and others are on the rise." Data has clearly shown an increase in various mental and physical disorders, and we can conclude GMO foods have a correlation to the spike in illness. Some people might say labeling foods as genetically modified could stigmatize them, thus driving away customers. However, is the possibility of losing a little business really more important than the overall health of the population?

“Genetically modified”, “Genetically engineered”, and “Genetically manipulated” are all terms that have been used interchangeably between most of the writers on this issue and mean the same thing. The “labeling” in this debate is the simple labeling seen in grocery stores, they can be indicated with a big sticker or found secluded near the ingredients list. Mandatory labeling and Voluntary labeling are two distinct policies that most countries usually follow. Mandatory labeling is as it sounds, companies will be forced to label all products containing a certain amount of GMOs. Voluntary labeling on the other hand, is when companies offer to label their own products (Gruere 2017). This is usually done by GMO-free companies. In the United States today, voluntary labeling is followed (Gruere 2003). When I refer or talk about voluntary labeling, I will always put “voluntary” beforehand. If I do not use “voluntary” assume mandatory labeling is being discussed. Another issue to address is the end goal of what labeling supporters are trying to strive for. Many advocates say they have the right to know what is in their food. Whether or not GMOs actually have any significant effect, the consumer should always be placed first (It

When talking about GMO foods and labeling, I think that people first off need to understand what a GMO actually is. A GMO is a Genetically Modified Organism. A GMO is an organism that has had its DNA altered. GMOs give farmers the potential to increases their crop production and their profitability by planting GMO seed. Many agriculture crops that use mostly GMOs now are corn, soy, sugar beets, dairy, yellow squash, cotton and zucchini. Farmers use GMOs to protect their crops from insects, pesticides and various weather conditions. People often wonder if GMO food is safe to consume. It isn’t right for people to say that GM seeds are harmful because there is no nutritional characteristics that differ from GM foods vs Non-GM foods. There are obviously two different sides. There are people