GMO Labeling Legislation is Necessary Now

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Are genetically engineered (GE) foods or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) required to be labeled? Unfortunately, though polls consistently show a majority of Americans want to know if the food they are purchasing contains GMOs, powerful biotech corporations continue to keep this information hidden from the public (GMO Facts). Genetic engineering is the transfer of genetic material from one organism to another, including unrelated species such as plants and animals. For example, scientists may insert a gene from a fish that thrives in a icy part of the ocean into a strawberry in hope that the fruit could become frost-resistant, however, cross-reactivity could occur if those who consume the altered berry are allergic to fish. Genetically modified foods have been in existence since the early 1990s, and they are not going away any time soon. In the European Union for example, GMOs are widely either restricted or banned if the “GMO in question poses a risk to human health or the environment” (Health and Consumers). I believe that genetically modified organisms are not only bad for the global economy, but a threat to the safety and integrity of the global food supply. Therefore, I propose legislation be passed in the United States requiring corporations to label foods that contain GMOs because we deserve the right to know what we are consuming.
Consumers have the right to know what they are eating, especially since GMOs could have negative health effects on humans. Jeffery M. Smith, Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology and consumer activist about GM foods discusses that the Bt toxin, regularly engineered into many foods as a barrier between the environment, causes skin irritation, nausea, fever, and can lea...

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..."Why Genetically Engineered Food Should Be Labeled." San Francisco State University. N.p., 9 July 1996. Web. 1 Jan. 2014. .
Glass, Emily. "The Environmental Impact of GMOs." One Green Planet. N.p., 2 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. .
Miller, Debra A. "Damage to Food Quality Nutrition and the Environment." Genetically Engineered Foods. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven, 2012. 18. Print.
Nacci, Giuseppe. "The Threat of Genetically Modified Organisms." Gerson Healing Newsletter 21 (May-June 2006): 5-8. Print.
Skancke, Jennifer. "Genetically Modified Food Is Not Safe." Genetically Modified Food. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2009. 17. Print.
"GMO FACTS." The NON GMO Project. N.p., 2013. Web. 02 Jan. 2014. .

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