[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
Health See other Health Articles Title: Food Labeling: Yes or No for GMO? Medscape... Hi. I'm Art Caplan at the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU Langone Medical Center. What do you do if someone comes in your office and says, "Doc, what do you think about genetically modified food? Is it safe for me and my kids to eat? Do you eat it?" How do you respond? Genetically modified foods in the American diet are unavoidable. All processed food contain GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Most of our corn and soy contain GMOs. We have probably been eating GMOs for a long time. Many of your patients probably don't understand that genetically modified seeds are usually altered to make them more pesticide-resistant—the weeds die, but the plants don't. Still, lots of grocery stores and restaurants say "GMO-free" or "No GMO products sold here." The organic industry, which has gotten very big, is locked in a serious battle with the rest of the food industry about labeling GMOs. A law is before the US Congress, and they are deciding whether or not to prohibit labeling of GMO food.[1] The state of Vermont passed a law some time ago mandating GMO labeling. The land of ice cream and maple syrup said, "Maybe we could get a commercial advantage by saying we don't use GMOs here and none of our foods contain GMOs." Massachusetts and Connecticut have legislation that is waiting on the decision from the US Congress. The whole issue of GMO labeling is a big one. I'm in the camp that says GMO foods are safe. We have been eating them for a long time, and nobody's developed a "third eye." No real health problems have been demonstrated, so I'm not too worried about GMO food. I actually laugh to myself sometimes and think, if you can pull off the highway and buy a Slim Jim® and Slurpee® for lunch, the least of your problems is GMO food. But that's just me. If you looked at this from a different angle, however, you can see the case for labeling. It's not that the government should mandate labeling because of safety; there ought to be voluntary labeling by the industry. Look at all the malarkey they put on their labels—"Made in Japan," "Kosher," "Halal," "Comes from Mom's kitchen," "Made by elves." There is so much nonsense on labels that adding something about GMOs doesn't strike me as extraordinary. If people want to know what is in their food and they want to buy it according to its contents, I guess they have a right to know. Should safety concerns fuel this? No. It's the informed consent doctrine. If you want to know something, the food manufacturer would be wise to tell you. If they are ready to tell you that elves made your cookies, it's hard for me to imagine that the industry wouldn't voluntarily say "GMO-free," or "not GMO-free." And for those who worry that labeling would mean the end of GMOs because consumers would avoid them, I might say, "They are pretty safe, and you should label them. Why don't you put a big DNA double helix on there with a happy face and say 'Yes, made with GMOs'?" I'm of the mind that we probably ought to see some labeling—not by government mandate because of safety, but because it's stacking up with a lot of other stuff on our labels that really doesn't mean anything, and that nobody wanted to know. I'm Art Caplan at the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU Langone Medical Center. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
|
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||