Persuasive Essay On Food Labeling

The testing and labeling of genetically modified food by the companies creating it is inadequate. We should be able to know when we are eating something that has been genetically modified. Director of the Institute of Health and Environmental Research in Australia, Ph.D. Judy Carman states, “we hear all the time from the US that you are the land of the free. I find it amazing that Americans have no choice about eating GM foods. The most basic democratic right is being denied to you” (Roseboro). The United States’ government is one of the few in the world opposed to labeling genetically modified foods. When looking at a list of ingredients on the back of a food package, one may assume that is exactly what they are eating. Unfortunately, the

Complete labeling of all genetically modified foods needs to become mandatory. Current safety testing also needs to be drastically changed. Tests should be for long-term effects and done by people independent of the big businesses. Government tests should compare the effects on animals fed modified food to those of the same types of animals fed the equivalent unmodified food. Allergens and other dangers need to be contained significantly better as well. Moving genes from specie to specie increase the likelihood of something going wrong and undetected. Multiple allergy scares have occurred since the start of genetically modified foods. For example, StarLink had their engineered corn approved by the US government for animal use only due to a couple of red flags during its brief testing. But, the corn found its way into taco shells, corn chips, and other foods on the market and huge and expensive recalls were needed (Ackerman). This needs to be monitored much more carefully and tested rigorously with strict passing requirements before allowing any usage at all. All of these new foods present new risks and it is necessary to take caution. Assessing these risks and monitoring them will be important in deciding if they’re worth the benefits or not (Akumo, Riedel, and Semtanska 227). The biggest mistake we need to avoid is either completely rejecting or completely endorsing this new technology without first having extensive knowledge about it (Ackerman). Being patient and taking the time to label and thoroughly test the safety of genetically modified food will be most beneficial in the long