Living Maxwell
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My Reaction to Mark Bittman’s Op-Ed Piece in the NY Times
His Why Aren’t GMO Foods Labeled? is something that every citizen in our country should be asking our politicians. And demanding answers.
Europe requires that GMO foods be labeled because they believe in giving consumers a choice and proper information about the foods that they are putting into their bodies.
In the U.S., our politicians are extremely beholden to Big Ag and don’t want to label foods as genetically-modified because they are scared that people won’t buy them.
Given that 70% of our supermarket shelves contain GMOs, I can see why they would be concerned. There would be a massive transition to organic food and conventional food companies would suffer tremendously.
Yet, our lawmakers have concluded that GMO foods are “generally regarded as safe” and they completely ignore the way in which a food is manufactured.
The fact that a food’s genetic expression can be altered in a laboratory and does not raise any potential health concerns is just pure intellectual dishonesty.
The one thing that I disagree with Mark Bittman on is his statement that “in the long run, genetic engineering may prove to be useful.” I don’t believe that you can fight Mother Nature and win. Essentially, that is what we are trying to do with GMO food.
The ending of his op-ed piece, however, is right on the mark. He said that we are being used as guinea pigs and without labeling, we have no say in the matter.
Isn’t that what America is all about? Having a say in the matter.
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If you are still not convinced or don’t know much about GMO food, go watch The Future of Food. This is a must-watch movie for everyone.
