Encouraging Mandatory Labeling: Requiring Transparency GMO Industry - Essay Example

Encouraging Mandatory Labeling: Requiring Transparency GMO Industry Due Have you ever looked at the packaging labels for the foods that you eat? There are dozens of ingredients that are 12 syllables long and sound more like they belong in a “mad scientist’s” laboratory. Many people today are much more conscious about the foods they buy and what they put in their bodies. However, it is not just the unusual chemical ingredients people are worried about today. Sometimes it is the ingredients that seem the most likely to be “all natural,” are not, necessarily.

The field of biotechnologies has allowed for the genetic engineering and genetic modifications to the ingredients of the foods we eat or the foods themselves. These products are quite common, yet you might not recognize them since there are no immediate regulations that require distributors, wholesalers, or retailers to label these products. Consumers are becoming more and more insistent that they be notified of exactly what they are eating and how they are made. Many feel that the. potential.

safety and necessity to inform the public are being traded by big GMO productions companies that worry only about, potential, losses in profits. For more that a decade the majority of processed foods in the United States include ingredients containing genetic material derived from plants whose DNA has undergone laboratory manipulation. The most common genetically altered crops in the United States include soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola. The soybeans carry DNA derived from bacteria that cause the plants to be resistant to common weed killing pesticides, as well as, corn crops, which, also, is taken from DNA from bacteria, which allow the corn to produce its own natural pesticide.

(Harmon & Pollack, 2012) It has been determined that most store bought products contain some form of soy or corn, including high fructose corn syrup, exist in 60-70% of the foods on the grocery store shelves, cereals, snack foods, and dressings, crackers, and chips are the product of genetic modification, in one way or another.(Byrne, 2013) Supporters of mandatory labeling believe that they manufacturers do not want labeling because they do not want consumers to be aware of how much GMO food they are already consuming.

They, also, feel that the scientists, biotechnological farms, and the big businesses that profit from them do not want to be forced to label such products. In their eyes they are putting profit before public awareness and, potentially, public safety. This public concern is not strictly an American phenomenon. Consumers prefer to be informed. Twenty-one countries have already implemented mandatory labeling requirements; so one might ask, why should the United States be any different? Consumers have a right to know through clearly marked packaging, to make informed choices about the ingredients being mentioned, and understand what exactly they put into their bodies.

(Byrne, 2013) They should not be forced to consume something that they consciously do not want to consume; it is as simple as that. Opposition to labeling appears to have less to do with keeping secrets from the consumers and more to do with the side effects that mass mandatory labeled to alert the consumers that there is a negative element to consuming it. For example, cigarettes are labeled because of the health conditions they can contribute to. GMO companies fear that labeling will automatically translate to consumers as, “eat at your own risk.

” That said, they feel that labeling will be sending the wrong message about GMO food products. GMO representatives, also, defend all of the positive aspects that GMO goods have allowed. Scientists have been able to develop plants that need far less water than before, produce less carbon dioxide into the environment, and can grow in extremely harsh environments where it has previously been difficult to get such plant life to grow. They have found the means to produce cheaper food that can be produced in much larger quantities than previously possible, which his beneficial in a world where hunger is a perpetual issue.

(English, 2012) No one is arguing that many of the GMO foods and GE ingredients do not have their place or have provided new benefits. It is about consumers having the right to know which items these are, so that they can decide for themselves. It is about “full transparency,” a political term we are becoming all too familiar with; this is what consumers want. It is, also, hugely about education. If it is true that most Americans are ignorant as to what GMO foods are and how long they have been included in many American diets, then educate them.

If the greatest concern is that consumers will misunderstand the intention and purpose of GMO labeling, then educate them. If people want to be informed about GMOs, then participate in making certain that that information is accurate, helpful and concise. So many people are, in fact, genuinely afraid of GMO foods, as sure as if they were genetic alien clones that want to take over your body, That said, reluctance or refusal to identify such products only may make that fear even greater. Transparency, education, and proper labeling are the combination that will produce the best results.

Genetically modifying foods is very likely to be the solution to mass food production. It may even participate in the solution to world hunger. But it does not and should not be done so in secret. People have a right to know. So make certain that what they know is the truth. Once people are dispelled of fears, understand the reality, and gain confidence in the products involving genetically modified foods or genetically engineered ingredients, their choices may surprise you. For those individuals who are opposed to GMOs, GE, and biotechnologies as a whole they always have the option to buy organic or produce their own foods; but first, they have to be notified and given the opportunity to choose.

If all of these scientific discoveries are being undertaken to benefit humanity, then they should have a little faith in the species they hope to benefit. Mandatory labeling enforces the truth; and the truth is something we all have a right to. References Byrne, P. (2013). Labeling of genetically engineered foods. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Agriculture, Colorado State University, Retrieved from http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09371.html English, C. (2012). Gmo foods: Why we shouldn't label (or worry about) genetically modified products Policymic, Retrieved from http://www.policymic.com/articles/5226/gmo-foods-why-we-shouldn-t-label-or-worry-about-genetically-modified-products Harmon, A.

, & Pollack, A. (2012, May 24). Battle brewing over labeling of genetically modified food. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/science/dispute-over-labeling-of-genetically-modified-food.html?_r=0