On a warm morning in June, my mom and I drove to a local market and natural foods store to follow up on a job that I had applied for. I walked in and asked to speak with my soon-to-be boss. She gave me the overview of the job, and told me to take a walk around the store to become familiar with both the store and the merchandise. Wanting to make a good impression, I made sure to pay close attention and take my time when looking at the products. As I was scanning the shelves, I noticed that just about everything had a label somewhere on the packaging saying that it was “GMO Free.” Due to my FFA experience and my position and knowledge regarding genetically modified foods, I knew right away that this could pose a problem. Despite …show more content…
Considering less than 2% of Americans come from an agricultural background, uneducated consumers make up the majority of the population. By passing more specific federal laws, the amount of uneducated consumers will decrease significantly. It is no secret that the American farmer is one of the hardest workers, as well as one of the most underpaid. With larger businesses and corporations making products cheaper and easier to produce, farmers have had to make more and more sacrifices in order to stay afloat. Increased food labeling on genetically modified foods will give money back to the American farmer. You may ask, “what difference could a label on a package make?” If the labeling of genetically modified foods can inform consumers across the country of what exactly they are eating, it can make a huge difference. But the only way to increase these labels is for more federal laws to be passed. Once the new laws are passed, Americans will be more knowledgeable of modern agriculture. When more people buy those genetically modified products, money will come back to the American farmer, and consumers won’t have to spend as much on their trip to the grocery
The new GMO Labeling bill S. 764, that was passed July 2016 after being tacked onto the National Sea Grant College Program Act, requires companies to disclose their inclusion of GMOs in their products directly on the label. This legislation panders to consumers that are already against GMOs while creating more economic strain on consumers who cannot choose to eat non-GMO due to budgetary restrictions. This bill will have serious implications not only in our economy and agricultural industry, but many economies and agricultural industries worldwide. Recent studies of how extensive the effect of this bill will be on the consumers of the United States are estimating upwards of $1,050 annual increase in our grocery spending to accommodate. The damage occurs when food producers that use GMOs inevitably follow the trend of agricultural industries before them and switch to non-GMO ingredients if they believe that it could potentially save public relations and customer loyalty. These switches have grievous implications, including triggering a setback on technology currently being developed and technology that could be developed in the future. 70% of products consumed in the U.S. have genetically engineered materials in them. These labeling laws do not just affect some consumers. In fact, those who are advocating strongly for this labeling system are likely not going to be impacted to the same degree as lower income Americans. This is due to lower income Americans not having the
The debate over genetically modified foods continues to haunt producers and consumers alike. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are foods that have been modified through bioengineering to possess certain characteristics. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or increased nutritional content (Whitman, 2000). The debate continues to grow as to whether these genetically altered foodstuffs are the answer to hunger in the coming years, or whether we are simply children playing with something that we do not have the capacity to understand. One of the biggest debates in the GMO issue is whether producers need to use labeling of
Ever since their entrance onto the consumer market in the last two decades of the twentieth century, genetically modified organisms (often referred to as GMOs) have been getting mixed reviews from the public. Genetically modified consumer products (primarily food) have pushed the barriers of some people's comfort levels. Born out of either a lack of knowledge or a sincere concern for public health or the environment, a consumer rights movement has been planted around the world pushing for labeling of genetically modified food products. This movement has matured in many places to a degree where interest groups have successfully lobbied governments into adopting criteria for labeling transgenic food
In my findings, farmers are not creating a sustainable environment to protect their crops as a result in contaminated seeds. This caused farmers to create a financial burden due to contamination in crops. However, farmers should come up with a better strategy to minimize the effect of GMOs. The Midwest can convince farmers to use less pesticides, which is beneficial for the environment. By doing so, farmers are able to articulate with the food industry to label food packages as “Non-GMO” for consumers to know that is safe and healthy. Farmers and consumers have the The principle that I used to make my decision is: #13”The dietetics practitioner pre-sents reliable and substantiated information and interprets controversial information without personal bias, recognizing that legitimate differences of opinion exist”(Code of Ethics, 2009). This applies to farmers that offer valuable information for consumers to know what is happening with GMOs and food
The main character of the novel Thirteen Reasons Why, Hannah Baker, committed suicide because of thirteen “reasons” that she divulged in a set of audiotapes. These reasons were people who either bullied her in some cruel way, or just ignored the fact that Hannah needed help. Whatever their crime against Hannah, each of these people affected her identity. Most of them negatively, but not all.
“Should We Care About Genetically Modified Foods?” by John N. Shaw appeared in Food Safety News issue of February 1, 2010, as a feature under the health section on the controversy between the pros and cons of genetically modified foods (Also known as GMO, genetically modified organisms). The main idea of this article is to inform people of the benefits of GMOs . The author, John Shaw received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance with a minor in Marketing from the University of Arkansas in 2007, where he was a “leadership scholar.” In addition to his studies, he has worked as a research assistant with Food Law LL.M. Director Susan Schneider, interned with Wal-Mart Government and Corporate Affairs division, the Arkansas Attorney General Public Protection Division, and with United States Senator Blanche Lincoln. John has a passion for Food Law, sports, and outdoors. In the article, he states, “ I submit that I am no scientist; merely an interested student.” According to the article, he is passionate and has done sufficient research about the topic to support his argument.
Have you ever eaten corn for dinner or even had a glass of milk? Chances are you’ve just eaten/dranken a genetically modified organism. GMOs ,or genetically modified organisms, are plants where their DNA has been modified to change their appearance, smell, taste, or in some cases to add a certain bacteria to keep pesticides off it. According to the Center for Food Safety,this genetic engineering appears as one of the greatest environmental challenges in the US. Furthermore,more than 92% of US corn is genetically modified and 94% of cotton and soybeans are. Should we even be selling these at local grocery stores?! GMO foods should stay on the shelves at supermarkets because they help improve
GMO’s stands for genetically modified organism, which are organisms that have had their genes altered or genetically engineered so that it can have resistance to pesticides and have rapid growth . Food markets around the United States sell products that are organic as well as genetically modified products but, as a society, we are not fully aware of that. Through reading the The Secret Life of Plants by Ferris Jabr, it lead us to think about how we are not aware of what produce we buy in our local food markets. We as a society in this democracy should have the knowledge of what we put into our body. Labeling Genetically Modified Organisms in food markets allows the consumers to know what they are eating and help them make the decision to buy the produce or not.
Food, food, food, is what our American culture revolves around. Supposedly biotechnology has been used to make “improvements” in our food, from the fast food industry to our local grocery store. This has gone largely unnoticed by the general public. Maybe you’ve heard of a GMO? These supposedly improved, genetically modified organisms aren’t very beneficial to our bodies at all, but the FDA wouldn’t want us to notice that. GMOS include alfalfa, corn, flax, rice, sugar beets, yellow summer squash, canola, cotton, papaya, soy, zucchini and wheat.
A recent upsurge of opposition to the production of genetically modified crops has farmers all over America asking themselves one question: To modify or not to modify? Genetically modified (GM) crops allow farmers to use fewer pesticides while still achieving the same yields. American farmers have planted GM crops since 1995 and, at least for the first few years, had no problems selling these products to the public. Recently, however, there has been a movement by several activist groups, some of which have the support of accredited scientists, to make a distinction on grocery store shelves between GM foods and those that were produced
In the United States agricultural demands are high as many individuals tend to buy more food then they actually need in their everyday diet. This process of over consumption or over buying of products can eventually correlate to America’s high obesity rates. This process of buying more then we actually need affects the increasing demand for products. Often times these high demands frustrate farmers as they are having to speed up productions to meet these demands and it doesn’t help that they are loosing agricultural land as well. In an article 2010 it says, “The USDA did s survey to see how much food is wasted in a year in the United States. In that survey they found that 132.9 billion pounds of food were wasted in 2010 (USDA 3).” This shows that Americans take more then what they can actually, which creates an unnecessary demand for agricultural products that concern farmers. This concern is what leads them to go through using GMO, which helps them stay in business with these high
America uses 2.4 billions of acres to grow GMOs; by 2012, 28 countries across the world grew GMOs in 3.7 billion acres of land (ISAAA 1). The United States take up more than 50% of that land. Even though so much of America’s crops are genetically modified, the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture do not require the labelling of genetically modified food products. Producers have the choice of including a GMO-containing label or a GMO-free one (Storrs 1). There is an increased accessibility of genetically modified, GM crop planting has increased from 1 million to 70 million hectares, one hectare equals 100 acres (GMO Compass). In America only one state, Vermont, out of the fifty states in the U.S. is planning to require labels on GMO-containing foods beginning July 2016 (Bailey 1). Act 120, an act delineating the labeling of foods produced by genetic engineering, has caused issues with Vermont and the federal government. The state is facing trials in order to pass this legislation. Labeling of foods in general is not strictly enforced by the government organizations who are accountable for food safety, such as the FDA. There are little regulations that must be met (Storrs 1). Due to the increasing availability of GMO-containing foods, the FDA should require all GM food producers to label their products because consumers need to be aware and GMO-containing foods and organically grown foods have extensive differences.
A popular debate in the United States that’s been ongoing since 1990, is the labeling on Genetically Modified or Engineered foods otherwise known as GMO’s. Genetically engineered food is an unnatural process of plant or meat products. These two products have had their DNA artificially altered in a laboratory by genes from other plants, animals, viruses, or bacteria to produce foreign genes in food. Monsanto, an agriculture company, claims the reason behind this experimental genetic alteration was said to produce a multiplying supply to feed the world. Nevertheless, Americans are in a debate with the government to label genetically engineered food due to several reasons. Labeling genetically engineered ingredients will help consumers determine which products they decide to consume. The FDA published a policy that states they do not require labeling of GMO foods. Americans and people all over the world feel that they should have the right to know what they are purchasing and consuming due to a list of health, environmental, ethical, and religious reasons.
Take Notice—It May Open Your Eyes. On a bright sunny 81-degree day, taking a small road trip headed southwest in Minnesota, one could not help but see some differences in the vast fields on either side of the highway—fields upon fields of corn, wheat, and beans. What catches ones’ eye, however, is the plumpness of one field to the withering and wimpy appearance of the field right next to it. The reason, one can conclude, such as myself, is that the green and plump field is that of a GMO crop. That fact stirs the brain with questions of: Are they safe? How do consumers know what they are eating? Are the foodstuffs labeled as such? Finally, how do we perceive them to be affecting the economy; the health of the people,
Humans have been genetically modifying crops (GM crops) since the beginning of agriculture. From domesticating wild grasses, which would become the modern staple grains of today, to breeding the best seeds of fruit in order to produce a larger and sweeter yield. Dr. Nina V. Fedoroff, a biology professor and ex-science/technology advisor to the Secretary of State, does not deny the benefits of GM crops in her article “Engineering Food for All”. Fedoroff provides credible and convincing evidence for easing current strict federal regulation of GM crops.