The Pros And Cons Of Genetically Modified Crops

The mechanisms associated with the development and implementation of genetically modified crops and its associated by-products have come under scrutiny. This has led an increase in the support towards stronger oversight and a more prescriptive and provisional regulation of these products. Specifically, the related oversight towards these issues, as seen with laxed limitations installed by regulatory agencies, have allowed potentially unsafe products to be consumed. Furthermore, this has led to the notion that United States producers do not have to label genetically modified foods, which affects consumers, as they do not have full disclosure in the context of the food crops that they consume.
As it stands, there is a system of oversight and

However, there seems to be a blatant lack of maintenance towards this regulation, as a policy established in 1992 maintains that genetically modified crops are “substantially equivalent” to non-genetically modified crops. Therefore, these crops are designated as “generally recognized as safe” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), which places places these genetically modified products in a category that does not require pre-market approval for the sale and distribution of that product. However, if there is an insertion of a transgene into a food crop, one which results in a transformation of plant proteins that may be deemed potentially harmful to human health, then the FDA may implement a larger scale of provisions. This may include the appointment of requiring the mandatory pre-market approval of food additives, regardless of whether or not these are deemed “generally recognized as safe.” While this oversight is lacking some internal structure that would help consumers more so than the producers of these crops, there are those who have initiated plans to scale back the effectiveness of the products distributed by the agricultural biotechnology industry. For example, in 2004, Senator Dick Durbin introduced legislation that would require any product grown to receive

Due to the provision instilled by the FDA which maintains that genetically modified crops are “substantially equivalent” to non-genetically modified crops, American producers do not have to identify their products as being or having used genetically modified products. This results in many denouncing these policies, as consumers do not know what they are eating, do not have the option of choosing not to buy foods with genetically modified ingredients, and cannot trace illnesses back to products which contained genetically modified ingredients. This lack of labeling has created an immense amount of tension between various political, social, and economic interests. One such opinion by Marc Lappé and Britt Bailey, authors of Against the Grain: The Genetic Transformation of Global Agriculture, states that the “industry has decided to silently invade market shelves by denying any visible identifiers of genetic engineering...The net effect is to subvert the normal process of consumer choice by suppressing the knowledge needed to freely choose. The cornerstore of such a privilege is labeling." This opinion reiterates the notion that the lack of transparency by agricultural biotechnology firms and the related oversight and regulatory system have directly contributed to the influx of potentially devastating environmental and human health