GM food labeling, a means to create more earning, and increase price of GM products

The abundance of food today and in the last years is being taken for granted; just because we have enough food does not mean we are not going to run out of it, the human population is growing very fast. There is no point of taking this surplus for granted, for example, in one study Jerry caulder (1998), reported that on any given day, the U.S has less than forty five days of food supplies, and these supplies are viewed as “surplus”. In contrast, two hundred years of oil supplies are viewed as a “strategic reserve’’. How can this be? Who is actually deciding on behalf of the public? Is Oil more important than food?

Basically there is a problem on how food issues are communicated to the public, a few people suffering from malnutrition or hunger is newsworthy while preventing billions from ever running such risk is not. We have lacked proper regulations on who precisely should decide which food is safer to eat and which one isn’t. This case of poor science is now affecting biotechnology advancement, especially with food LABELING.

Technically food labeling is supposed to provide important information to consumers, based on underlying scientific facts and not prejudice. Years back blood was labeled “Caucasian” or “colored” now this had nothing to do with the blood composition; it was only based on social prejudice. Labeling foods differently, simply because they are genetically engineered, is just another expression of prejudice.

Labeling is very useful and desirable when accurate, valuable information is communicated to the user/public.  For example genetically engineered cotton has been made to produce fibers, if valuable information is put about fibers’ reaction with other chemicals; that could be useful to consumers. Long shelf life tomatoes can be labeled to provide valuable information as well. In this case labeling should be used to communicate important information about services within the product, and this information is of economic value to the consumer.

Today there are thousands of food products derived from genetically engineered Soybeans,  and they are consumed by the public. If it is labeling, should we label every product individually just because genetically modified soybean was used as a raw material? Should we label chicken that fed on genetically modified corn? Should we label Milk from a cow that fed on genetically modified maize?  Who should be responsible for labeling these products? What criteria do we use to reach the conclusion of what is safe to eat and what is not? What information does the public have to make informed decisions on these labeled products (since labels have no information)? Other than science what rules do we use to guide us? Who actually pays for the label on food?

==labels with no information content are doing nothing rather than imposing costs to consumers.

Ernest Medard

May 2014

Sir.meddy@hotmail.com