Spencer Park Page 1

Spencer Park

English 2010 1:00

Collin Hull

Feb 21, 2013

GMOs and the Right to Know

Since their inception, GMOs,

or genetically modified

organisms, have been the

subject of many controversies.

From their supposed numerous

negative health effects, there

are a lot of people that find

GMOs distasteful. Many just

plain and simply want them gone. Many feel that there is just too much that is unknown about

them, and that it is just a risk that they would rather not take. But as things are now, there is

no way for anyone to make an informed decision because GMOs are currently not required by

law to be labeled on food labels. It is important for food to be labeled as such so that

consumers can make an informed decision.

Image 1. Picture from labelgmos.org, for a rally against allowing GM salmon to be put on shelves unlabeled as GM in response to the California law being voted on that would require GM foods to be labeled.

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Ever since their creation, GMO’s have been the scapegoat for a plethora of different

medical maladies. Jeffery M. Smith, author of the famous book “Seeds of Deception” as well as

a proclaimed authoritarian on the subject of GMOs believes they are to blame for many of

today’s modern illnesses. They are blamed for an increase in allergies during the last twenty

years, increases in cancer rates due to overuse of

pesticides, as well as various other health concerns.

(Smith) These are very valid concerns to health if true.

And with many people like Jeffery Smith declaiming

them, it is very hard for one to be a fan of GMOs.

With so many people upset about GMO foods for so many different reasons, it stands to

reason that some people demand that products that have genetically modified material in it be

labeled as such, to allow consumers to avoid them if they wish. But somehow that hasn’t

happened. Despite a large amount of protests aimed at getting this put into law, along with

petitions with over one thousand signatures that were pro GMO labeling, they still remain

unlabeled.

This has rightly created a certain amount of frustration and anger over the whole GMO

situation. Monsanto, the major corporation that produces and develops the vast majority of

GM producs says on their website:

“The FDA does not require food derived from biotech crops be labeled differently from

other food products, unless the modification results in a meaningful difference, such as

changing the compositional or nutritional profile of the food. In that case, the

Image 2. This is an example of a food label that would label GMOs under the ingredient list.

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meaningful difference would be reflected in the description of the food. Some might

ask what the harm would be in requiring the labeling of products. U.S. labeling laws are

based on health and safety. Requiring labeling ingredients that don’t pose a health

issue would undermine both our labeling laws and consumer confidence. Ensuring that

such labeling is accurate would also put a huge burden on regulatory Agencies”

This is a very valid point that they bring up. In order to monitor and regulate all GMO’s would

likely require an entire revamp of the currant FDA, redesigning laws and regulations as well as

requiring much more work for the FDA. But the FDA was made to regulate the laws based on

need, not on convenience for the FDA. People deserve to know what’s in their food, especially

since they are asking for it.

Monsanto would respond the Jeffery Smith’s claims and say that they are untested and

unverified studies, and that there is no solid proof that GMOs are to blame. And this is true,

because the very nature of GMOs makes it hard to determine if they cause any of those issues.

You eat them sporadically in your daily life, and with so many new environmental factors in the

modern world, it is hard to say what is causing what illness. Monsanto is right in many ways, as

are the skeptics of GMOs. But Monsanto’s point is completely irrelevant. Just because it isn’t

verified that they have health concerns doesn’t mean that people should be able to have no

way of determining whether the food they are eating is organic or not. And people deserve

that right, the right to choose. By refusing to disclose that information to the public, they are

denying that right.

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Monsanto has provided a “convenient” solution for those who do care about what is in

their food. They stated on their website:

“What would be the benefits of labeling products containing GM ingredients?

Individuals who make a personal decision not to consume food containing GM

ingredients can easily avoid such products in the U.S., they can purchase products that

are certified as organic under the National Organic Program. They can also buy products

from companies who have voluntarily labeled as not containing GM ingredients. The law

allows for voluntary labeling so long as the information is accurate, truthful and avoids

misleading consumers about the food. Monsanto supports both options.” (Monsanto)

While true, it also skirts the real concern completely and efficiently. Yes, you can find food that

is organic and GMO free if one does buy organic, but organic is moderately more expensive,

and many people in the modern generation simply feel they don’t have time to find local

organic sources of food, or the time to prepare all of their foods from scratch. Buying organic

works, but only if you use only organic food for everything, and not everything is labeled as

organic. One can’t assume that everything that isn’t labeled organic has GMO’s in it or vice

versa. As it is people can’t easily obtain this information even if they want it. Hardly a

convenient solution at all. If no good would come of labeling GM foods, what bad could

possibly come from it either? Whether or not GM foods are actually dangerous or not is beside

the point. The point is that until they do serious unbiased research into these things, it should

be given more regulations and examinations.

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Prior to the creation of the FDA, the food industry was a scary place, foods were not

handled sanitarily, and health was a nightmare. There were many things getting in the food

that people had no idea were in there because there was no labeling. The FDA was created to

combat that issue, and for the most part, they have done that job well. The same thing was

done with the issue of cigarettes having their own health label, and that was also a highly

resisted change. But now people want the same treatment to GMOs, and it really isn’t that

different a situation as before. Just because it won’t be easy for the FDA to implement, doesn’t

mean the FDA shouldn’t do it. Need is why the FDA was created, and they had similar troubles

at their creation, but they combatted it effectively, and made the consumer world a safer place.

It is now time for them to do the same for GMOs.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that GMOs are all bad. By all means, many of the points

against them are vague, and untested as well as unproven. GMOs are beneficial in many

different ways. They have increased our nation’s food production substantially, as well as

increased the nutritional value in foods as well. They aren’t necessarily the bane of all

existence like many people say. But there is enough reasonable doubt in the other direction to

warrant the changes that would be required in FDA regulations. There just isn’t enough study

known about their effects for anyone to be sure of anything. The only studies done have been

highly biased. Monsanto did it’s own research, and the opposing researchers were looking for

problems. There needs to be a third party involved that will do solid, unbiased research. So

until such a point where we can prove that GMOs are completely safe, I believe that we should

have the right to decide uninhibited.

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I propose that the FDA put into regulations that food companies that purchase GMO

foods for use in their products should label which ingredients are GM. Vegetables sold in

markets and stores should be labeled as well. If Monsanto is correct about their food, there

would be no reason to fear this change, and the majority of people will continue to use GM

foods as before, but still giving people the right to know.

By no means will this be an easy implementation. A lot of work would have to go into

designing a new system for regulation as well as for the labeling process. Things will be rough

for the FDA during the transition phase until the system was perfected. It may take some trial

and error. But with so many people asking for it, it is a necessary evil. Just because it isn’t easy

doesn’t mean it isn’t necessary or isn’t what is right. People deserve that right to choose. Don’t

you?

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Works Cited

Monsanto “Whats the Problem with Labeling Genetically Modified (GM/GMO) Foods?”

Two locations in the article. n.p. web, Feb 24, 2013

Monsanto “Food Safety” n.p. web, 11 Feb, 2013

Smith, Jeffrey “Genetically Engineered Foods May Cause Rising Food Allergies –

Genetically Engineered Soybeans” May 2007 Spilling the Beans newsletter Web, 11 Feb,

2013

Images

Image 1: http://www.labelgmos.org/santacruz n.p. web, Feb 26, 2013

Image 2: http://farmwars.info/?p=10059 n.p. web, Feb 27, 2013