The article I chose from the New York Times is titled “Fears, Not Facts, Support G.M.O-Free Food” written by Jane Brody. Brody talks about the facts that go into GMO’s along with the pros and cons. I feel as though that Brody is not taking a side on GMO’s but simply stating facts. For example she discusses genetically modified Golden Rice and how it can be a beneficial but also harmful. Brody states that Golden rice is enhanced to be rich in beta-carotene, which is a precursor for vitamin A will help counter vitamin A deficiency which can cause blindness. On the other hand there is another gene inserted into the rice that increases iron to fight iron-deficiency anemia.

Another valid point that Brody brought up was that the issue with GMO is poor public understanding about the science behind GMO’s. Brody states that we need to look at what GMO’s mean and look at their potential good rather than just look at their harmful possibilities. I think this a great point because I feel like people are more scared of the outcomes of GMO’s and fear them rather than looking at the beneficial aspect of it. It is indeed true that there is a potential for GMO’s to be harmful in the long run but at the same time, what isn’t harmful to us in our environment?

Generally, I think Jane Brody did a great job getting the facts across that there are pros and cons of GMO’s. People should not be afraid of the outcomes and look at the benefits alongside with the drawbacks of GMO’s. Brody also declares that there are obviously going to be risks that scientists have yet to consider or discover but that there is nothing in life that is risk-free so why not take the risk now? There is nothing in our environment now, whether its food or products, that is going to be 100% safe.

References:

http://foodlawlatest.com/2013/11/13/written-qa-to-eu-commission-approval-of-gm-maize-mir-162-and-long-term-studies/

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/fears-not-facts-support-gmo-free-food/?ref=topics&_r=1

What do genetically modified foods include?

Genetically modified foods can include anything! Most processed foods and products that contain corn or soy ingredients, also contain GMO’s .

How common are GMO’s?

GMO’s are in 80% of our food! It’s a little hard to get away from them.

Are GMO’s safe?

Like I said before, there is no clear answer. GMO’s have pros and cons on what they can do. One of the cons is that there is no way of telling what GMO’s will do to our body 50 years from now. As of now, GMO’s are considered safe in U.S because it has no shown side effects to the body.

Are GMO’s labeled?

In the U.S, GMO’s are not labeled but in other countries they are either labeled or just banned all together.

Is there a place where I can find non-GMO foods?

YES! There are websites such as http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/ that give you a complete list of foods and products that do not contain GMO’s.

Where can I go to find more information about GMO’s?

http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/ , this is a great website that I find to be very helpful when researching GMO’s.

References:

http://www.keycompounding.com/gmo-food-fight/

http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/

http://foodbabe.com/2014/10/10/confirmed-lab-tests-show-over-30-popular-food-products-contain-gmos-are-you-eating-them/

During my research for my other blogs I have noticed that the United States is one of the only countries that does not label genetically modified food, which is a bit strange. www.nongmoproject.org is a non-profit organization committed to protecting the non-GMO food supply and informing people more about non-GMO products. The non-GMO project website states that most developed countries such as Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union do not consider GMO’s to be safe. There are either a lot of restrictions on GMO products or they just completely ban the product.

So why does the United States consider GMO’s to be safe while other countries go to the extremes of completely banning a product that contains GMO’s? Apparently, the United States government has approved GMO’s based on tests and studies that have been done by the same companies who created these studies and benefit from the sales. Doesn’t this seem a bit hazy? Why doesn’t the U.S use the same tests and studies that these other countries use to thoroughly test if GMO’s are safe to consume? I personally think that there should be a nationwide test so that every country has the same procedures and outcomes for testing if GMO’s are safe. So is there a way of really knowing if GMO’s are safe? Most countries say no, while few say yes. I guess we will have to wait and find out the hard way.

References:

http://gmo-awareness.com/all-about-gmos/gmo-defined/

http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/

The journal article I chose to write about this week is from the Wall Street Journal and it is titled “Should Companies Be Required to Label Genetically Modified Foods” this is an interesting article because it is written by two authors and each of them are giving their input of whether or not they think it is a good idea that companies label genetically modified foods.

The first author, who is a supporter of the idea of labeling, is Andrew Kimbrell. Kimbrell argues that the American public needs to know what is in their food that they buy and serve their families. Kimbrell also states that 64 other countries have the right to know what is in their food and that it is not fair that America does not. Companies claim that they should not have to label that a product contains GMO’s because it has not been proven unsafe. For me personally, I do not see a problem in labeling because if it really is safe to consume then it should not be a problem to notify people that their product contains GMO’s. Another great point that I think Kimbrell brought up was the fact that labeling the food would not cost companies a great deal of money. Why? Because companies change their labeling all the time! It would cost little to nothing for these big companies simply state “produced with genetic engineering” on it.

On the other hand Nina Fedoroff, who is a critic, says no! Companies should not label their products. Fedoroff states that it is “simply a ploy to make consumers worry.” Fedoroff makes her argument very simple and states that labeling these products does not tell the consumer anything. She states that simply labeling genetically modified foods does not tell the consumer about the safety or nutritional quality of the food. I agree with Fedoroff on this point, like I said before there are not a lot of people who are educated enough on this topic to be able to tell if genetically modified organisms is a good or bad thing. Fedoroff also says that labeling might suggest that the food might cause health problems, which is not the case. No one knows exactly what the long-term health effects of GM food are.

I think both of these authors make very valid points when being a supporter or critic. This topic about labeling genetically modified foods has been a heated debate for a while now. I personally do not have an opinion on this because it is such a grey area, there are many good points on both sides of this debate whether you are a supporter or against the idea of labeling. This journal article just goes to show that there are two sides to every problem.

References:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/should-companies-be-required-to-label-genetically-modified-foods-1436757040

http://www.salon.com/2013/09/06/scientific_american_declares_its_against_gmo_labeling/

A mainstream article that I chose is from CNN news and it is titled, “GMO labels make good sense” written by Marta Talledo. This article talks about how the public deserves to know what is in their food, which is something that I believe everyone has a right to know. What if your food contained something that was toxic to you specifically? For example, if you had an allergic reaction to some food. I think you should have a right know what goes into your body.

No one necessarily knows the long-term effects of GMO’s, which is a major concern for people who are against them. Talledo took a poll from consumers and asked them what their thoughts were on GMO labeling, in which she stated that 92% of the people she polled said that they would like their products labeled. I think that this is generally a good poll to take in theory, but I am questioning if the consumers she polled had enough knowledge about GMO’s. Do these individuals know that GMO’s make their products bigger, cheaper, and that there is no evidence that they are harmful to the body? I personally do not think that everyone that she had polled knew this information. If I were personally being polled and did not have the knowledge that I have now, and someone came to me and asked if I would like to know if genetically modified organisms should be labeled on my products I would say “absolutely!” I would say this for the pure fact that the genetically modified organisms sound frightening. The general public does not have a health care background to be able to decipher if GMO’s are a good or bad thing.

Talledo also proceeds to say that big companies are paying a lot of money to not label their products. This seems a bit hazy because why not label the products? When they are asked why they don’t label their products they reply by saying that the products haven’t been proven unsafe. I completely understand when people that are knowledgeable about this issue are skeptical and agree that everything should be labeled for the safety of the public, even if there are no harmful effects on the body now. I am neither for nor against GMO’s but what makes me skeptical is, if it is safe to consume then why not just label it anyways to make the general public happy?

References:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/25/opinions/tellado-gmo-labeling/

http://farmwars.info/?p=10059