Most of our food that comes frozen, like vegetables, or in a box, like cereal, contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In the US, a handful of crops, corn and soybeans chief among them, have had their genomes altered by biotechnicians. The aim: to produce higher-yielding harvests, and to create more food while spraying fewer pesticides. But many people distrust GMO foods and wish to avoid them. They can't.
Aside from buying USDA organic, a label that can only be awarded to foods without GMO ingredients, there's no way to know if you're eating a food made from GMOs. The FDA, the agency in charge of food labeling, does not require foods with GMO ingredients to be specially marked. According to the FDA, "The use or absence of use of bioengineering in the production of a good or ingredient does not, in and of itself, mean that there is a material difference in the food." Its stance is that because genetically modified (GM) and conventional crops are the same, there's no reason to label the foods with GMO ingredients as being different.
A host of consumers disagrees with the FDA. The strongest arguments for GMO labeling stand on the grounds that, first, the science on GMOs is young and unproven, and second, we live in a democratic country and have the right to know what we're eating.
Agriculture experts tend to agree that more study needs to be done on GMOs before we can shun or adopt them. "Are GMOs dangerous?" asks Charles Benbrook, Professor in Washington State's Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, "We don't know enough to reach any definitive judgments." Another professor, David Zilberman, who specializes in Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, feels more confident about the potential of GMOs. He says, "Agricultural biotechnology is in its infancy and the sky is the limit."
Each expert sees the present debate on GMOs as a charged moment. "This is the beginning of a new era," says Zilberman. "If we stop GMOs, we kill a new era." Zilberman does note that GMOs present risks, but he believes that with GMOs we will be "taking small risks to address big problems." Benbrook takes a more reserved approach to GMOs. "We are diving headlong into a brave new world of agriculture," he says. "Everybody ought to be interested in what's in their food."
Two weeks ago, news broke that Californians, who have historically been very interested food safety, will be voting on GMO labeling in November. If enough people vote in favor of The California Right To Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, the labeling of GMO foods will begin in California. Experts will be watching the vote's ripple effect. A vote for labeling may curb food producers' interest in bioengineering. A vote against labeling may encourage biotechnicians to stay their course: to develop, test, and get to market new genetically modified crops.
Do you think foods with GMOs should be labeled? Let us know in the comments section below. While you're thinking about food policy, you'll still need to cook dinner. Head over to our recipes page for ideas.