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Battle Brewing Over Labeling of Genetically Modified Food

Posted by Soulskill on from the foooooood-fiiiiiiight dept.

gollum123 writes with this excerpt from the NY Times: "For more than a decade, almost all processed foods in the United States — cereals, snack foods, salad dressings — have contained ingredients from plants whose DNA was manipulated in a laboratory. Regulators and many scientists say these pose no danger. But as Americans ask more pointed questions about what they are eating, popular suspicions about the health and environmental effects of biotechnology are fueling a movement to require that food from genetically modified crops be labeled, if not eliminated. The most closely watched labeling effort is a proposed ballot initiative in California that cleared a crucial hurdle this month, setting the stage for a probable November vote that could influence not just food packaging but the future of American agriculture. Tens of millions of dollars are expected to be spent on the election showdown. It pits consumer groups and the organic food industry, both of which support mandatory labeling, against more conventional farmers, agricultural biotechnology companies like Monsanto and many of the nation's best-known food brands like Kellogg's and Kraft."

6 of 334 comments (clear)

  1. Monsanto? by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I guess we all know how this will go down, considering what happened in France. The FDA will step in and overrule any vote

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  2. but all food is now GM by sneakyimp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    While I applaud the notion, this all overlooks the fact that pollen from Monsanto's GM crops is wind- and insect-borne to even organic farms.

    And what about scientists who say it is harmful?

    1. Re:but all food is now GM by LifesABeach · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And if your Orange tree is pollinated by one of Monsanto's Frankin Seeds, you get to pay for it. But does Monsanto pay the neighbor if one of Monsanto's Frankin trees is pollinated by a regular seed?

    2. Re:but all food is now GM by jedidiah · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't want to encourage the kind of monopoly that Monsanto represents. Even if Monsanto has salted everyone else's fields, I would still respond to a label that made it clear that the farmer that grew my food retained the right to save his own seeds.

      This isn't just about the direct impacts of Monsanto franken-foods on my body or the environment. That's certainly important but it is by no means the end of the issue.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  3. Labelled = Banned by Cassini2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As far as the food industry is concerned, labelling is equivalent to banning genetically modified food.

    As far as I am concerned, if they can't sell it for what it is, then they shouldn't be selling it.

  4. Heath effects is a red herring by subreality · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... So please stop lending credence to it. The real concern is creating a crop monoculture engineered to meet Monsanto's short term needs (eg to sell roundup-ready seeds every year, then selling the roundup, etc), and not the long-term needs of society or even just farmers.