GMO Foods: What Am I Eating?

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Food produced with genetically modified organisms (GMO) warrants considerable debate. Several consumer watchdog groups, like Greenpeace International, advocate banning GMO foods. Others, however, maintain that GMO foods are safe for human consumption and can help feed the world while reducing the use of pesticides. Nonetheless, although public opinion is divided over the acceptance and safety of genetically modified foods, one thing is certain: Consumers should be made explicitly aware of GM foods; these foods must be labeled. People have a right to know what they are ingesting and how it is produced. In fact, 94% of Americans favor labeling genetically modified foods (Hesson). Even though the FDA does not currently require labeling of goods produced with genetically modified organisms, some estimate that “at least 60% of products in US supermarkets contain GMOs” (Hesson). A few of these foods include: “baby formula, tortilla chips, taco shells, veggie burgers, corn muffin mix and baco bits” (IPM & Organic). The increasing prevalence of unlabelled and potentially hazardous genetically modified foods in the American diet is cause for concern.

Corporations and agencies with vested interests in GMO foods assert, on the contrary, that “[t]here is no science based reason to specifically label these foods. Given that the scientifically uninformed consumer will almost always react with fear to new technology, labeling would not be productive” (IPM & Organic). Admittedly, numerous agencies attest to the short term safety of genetically modified foods. The FDA considers genetically modified food to be inconsequentially different from food produced by unaltered, conventional crops. Likewise, “the National Academy of Science r...

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... almost impossible. However, given a choice I would prefer the unmodified food. Although I do not have an illogical fear or disposition to genetically modified food, natural whole foods appear to be a safer choice. This, nevertheless, has an exception. The price between GM and traditional food products must be equal or comparable. As the price of the genetically modified food decreases in relation to the price of the traditional counterpart, I would be more susceptible to purchase the GM product.

In the end, GMO foods are very promising. They have the potential to feed the world while also reducing pesticide use. Hopefully, in the near future, the health concerns surrounding GM foods will be definitively debunked. Until then however, the consumer needs to be aware of what they are ingesting; GMO food labels must be enacted and enforced.

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