Dalton1

TaylorDalton
Cole
ENGL4010001
31July2015
StoppingtheFearandtheCampaigntoLabelGeneticallyModifiedFoods
OnJuly23,2015acompromisewassoughtandapprovedbytheHouseof
RepresentativesconcerningtheFDAspolicyonlabellinggeneticallymodified(GM)foods,
naturalfoods,andnonGMOfoodsviaH.R.1599.Thelegislationwouldalsopreemptany
statelegislationconcerningGMfoods.(Congress.gov)Whilethislegislationstillmustpassthe
SenateflooraswellasthePresidentsdesk,thelegislationisseenasavictoryforthoseagainst
labellingGMfoods.However,thoseseekingmandatorylabellingforGMfoodsseethisasaloss
ofconsumersrighttoknowthattheyarebuyingapotentiallydangerousproduct.Opponentsof
labellingfoodsthathavegeneticallymodifiedingredientsciteafundamentallackofany
scientificresearchthatresultedinaclearthreatfromgeneticmodification.Additionally,thesale
ofGMfoodsformorethantwentyyearsandnumerousresultsdemonstratingtheabilitytosafely
consumeGMproductsindicatesnodangerandthusnoneedtolabelGMfoods.
Inthispiece,IfirstaimtoconvincemyreadersthatlabellingGMfoodsisunnecessary
andunwarrantedthroughexaminationofempiricalevidence.Secondly,Iwillillustratethatthe
currentlegislationgoingtotheSenateisthemostequitablecompromiseforallparties,andargue
thattheeffectsoflabellinggeneticallymodifiedfoodsarecommerciallyandsociallyadverseand
againsttheveryidealsofaconsumersrighttochoosethattheprolabelcommunitystandsfor.
Evidenceofsafeconsumptionandresultsofthepastandofstudieswillbepresentedtoinform

Dalton2

thereaderofthefactsofgeneticallymodifiedfoodsandrebuttheperspectiveofthosefor
mandatorylabelling.
ThesafetytoconsumeGMfoodsisamainconcernofadvocatesofmandatorylabelling.
Thisisunderstandableduetothefactthatgeneticmodificationdonethroughgenesplicingisa
newtechnology.However,genemodificationthroughselectivebreedinghasexistedsince
humanitybegantopracticeagricultureandanimalhusbandry.Humanityhasselectedcertain
traitstobepreferredamongstagricultureandlivestockincludingbutnotlimitedtosize,ageof
reproduction,rateofmaturity,andnutritionalvalue.Geneticmodificationisthemarriageof
agriculturalpracticesandbiologytoengineerproductsthataremoreefficientlyproducedandof
ahigherquality,butremainsubstantiallyequivalenttoproductsofthesametypethatarenot
geneticallymodified(Uptonetal.,p.4).Thismeansthatgeneticallymodifiedcornisstillcorn
butwithsmallgeneticdifferencesthatallow,forexample,theuseofaspecializedherbicidethat
keepscostslowerforfarmers.InapieceentitledLabelingforGMOFoodsIsABadIdeaby
theEditorsofScientificAmerican,anextremelypopularpublicationcoveringscienceand
technologybasedintheUnitedStatessince1845,itisstated:
Wehavebeentinkeringwithourfood'sDNAsincethedawnofagriculture.By
selectivelybreedingplantsandanimalswiththemostdesirabletraits,our
predecessorstransformedorganisms'genomes,turningascragglygrassinto
plumpkerneledcorn,forexample
.
Forthepast20yearsAmericanshavebeen
eatingplantsinwhichscientistshaveusedmoderntoolstoinsertagenehereor
tweakagenethere,helpingthecropstoleratedroughtandresistherbicides.

Dalton3

Around70percentofprocessedfoodsintheU.S.containgeneticallymodified
ingredients.
Thispiecepresentsoneaspectoftheargumentagainstmandatorylabelling.Thescopeofhuman
utilizationofGMproductsalreadyapprovedandinusefordecadesdemonstratesthatthereare
noilleffectsfromtheconsumptionofGMfoods.SeeTables1and2foralookatfoodsthatare
approvedforconsumption,andthosethatarestillseekingapproval.
Table1.
GlyphosateresistantcropsthathavebeenderegulatedintheUnitedStates(approvedforsal
e).
Crop

Yearapproved

Soybean

1996

Canola

1996

Cotton

1997

Maize

1998

Sugarbeet*

1999

Alfalfa**

2005

*removedfrommarketafterfirstintroduction,butreintroducedin2008
**returnedtoregulatedstatusin2007bycourtorder
Source:Dukeetal.,2009

AlongsidetherealitybasedtwentyyearcasestudyofGMfoodsistheresearch
conductedbyscientiststhatoverwhelminglyresultintheconclusionthatGMfoodsaresafeto
consume.Onesuchinstanceisareviewofseveralpiecesofresearchintothetoxicityofan
herbicideusedinconjunctionwithgeneticallymodifiedfoodsandrepresentsakeyconcernof
theopposition'sargument.PrivateconsultantsforMonsanto,acompanyintheU.S.that
developedsomeofthefirstGMproducts,LarryKierandDavidKirklandgatheredstudiesonthe
toxicityoftheherbicideglyphosatetodeterminetheoverallconsensusoftheresultsofthe

Dalton4

research.Theresearchdemonstratedobjectivelythatglyphosate,whileknowinglytoxicto
humansinhighdoses,isnotathreatinthelevelsachievedfromnormalconsumptionand/or
exposure(Kieretal.).Theamountresearchconductedintoglyphosateandproductssimilarly
relatedtoGMproductsisatestamenttotheconcernforsafetyandconsumerwellbeingbythe
scientificandcommercialcommunity.Anyattempttolabelandthusjeopardizethesuccessof
GMproductsisaresultofignorancebasedfear.
Table2.
GMtraitsalongwithanexampleandthegeneticchangethatcausesthetraittooccur.
Genetically

Example

Conferred
Trait

Organism

GeneticChange

APPROVEDCOMMERCIALPRODUCTS

Herbicidetolerance

Soybean

Glyphosateherbicide(Roundup)toleranceconferredbyexpressionofaglyphosatetolerant
formoftheplant
enzyme
5enolpyruvylshikimate3phosphatesynthase(EPSPS)isolated
fromthesoilbacterium
Agrobacteriumtumefaciens
,strainCP4

Insectresistance

Corn

Resistancetoinsectpests,specificallytheEuropeancornborer,throughexpressionofthe
insecticidal
protein
Cry1Abfrom
Bacillusthuringiensis

Alteredfattyacid

Canola

composition

Virus
resistance

Highlauratelevelsachievedbyinsertingthe
gene
forACPthioesterasefromtheCalifornia
baytree
Umbellulariacalifornica

Plum

Resistancetoplumpoxvirusconferredbyinsertionofacoatprotein(CP)genefromthe
virus

PRODUCTSSTILLINDEVELOPMENT

Vitaminenrichment

Rice

Threegenesforthemanufactureofbetacarotene,aprecursortovitaminA,inthe
endospermofthericepreventitsremoval(fromhusks)duringmilling

Vaccines

Tobacco

HepatitisBvirussurfaceantigen(HBsAg)producedintransgenictobaccoinducesimmune
responsewheninjectedintomice

Dalton5

Oralvaccines

Maize

Fusionprotein(F)fromNewcastlediseasevirus(NDV)expressedincornseedsinducesan
immuneresponsewhenfedtochickens

Fastermaturation

Cohosalmon

Atype1growthhormonegeneinjectedintofertilizedfisheggsresultsin6.2%retentionof
thevectoratoneyearofage,aswellassignificantlyincreasedgrowthrates

Source:

Phillips,T.2008

Whilethescientificportionofthisargumentlieswhollyonthesideofantilabelling
efforts,aconsumersrighttoknowisalsoparamounttotheconcernsofprolabellingadvocates.
ThisiswhythosethatareagainstoptionallabellingforGMfoodshavedesignedamacabre
monikerforH.R.1599toserveitspseudoscienceagenda:DenyingAmericansthe
RighttoKnow(DARK)Act(CenterforFoodSafetywebsite).Promandatorylabeling
advocatesmakepublicappealstolabelGMfoods,askingAmericans,Dontyouwanttoknow
whatyouareeating?!WellitturnsoutthatAmericansdowanttoknowwhattheyareeating
andtheHousehasrecognizedthisfact.ThisiswhyH.R.1599enablestheFDAtoinvestigate
andpunishforfalseclaimsoforganicandnaturalfoodsandwouldputineffectaprogramto
certifynonGMfoods.ThisActwouldprotecttheconsumersrighttochooseaswellas
expandingtheiroptionstoincludefoodsthatwereconfirmedbytheFDAtobeorganicand
natural.
Despiteadesiretoprotectconsumers,thoseformandatorylabellingdonotunderstand
theimpactthatlabellingmayhaveonthemarket.InastudybyDr.WilliamK.Hallmanforthe
FoodPolicyInstituteitwasdeterminedthatAmericansaresplitontheperceptionsofGMfoods
withthetrenddemonstratingthatAmericansdisapproveofGMproducts.However,thestudy
alsofoundthatalackofknowledgewasapparentinthepopulace.Thisignorancedrivesthefear

Dalton6

behindanewtechnologythathasnobasistobefeared.Educationanddialogueaboutgenetic
modificationisrequiredtorevealthebenefitsofGMfoodsandassuagepublicfearsof
dangerousfoodsinthesupermarket.
Ifmandatorylabellingwereputintoplace,Americawouldlikelyseethesameeffectthat
theEUsawwhenitputasimilarregulationinplace.EUsupermarketshelvessoonbeganto
emptyofproductsthatwerelabeledgeneticallymodified.(Carterp.68)Producerssawthattheir
GMproductswerenotsellingaswellwiththelabelsanddecidedtoeitherchangeformulasto
forgolabels,orceaseproductionaltogetherofcertainproducts.Thisresultistheoppositeof
whattheprolabellingcommunitydesiresbutitwouldbealikelyoutcome.Consequently,a
changeinformulaoftenmeansanincreaseincostsofproductionwhichwouldthenleadtoan
increaseinpriceforconsumers.Aconsumerschoicesforproductswouldshrinktoinclude
thosefewGMproductsthatareabletostayontheshelves.MeanwhilenonGMproductswhich
maybeinferiortoGMproductswouldremainsimplybecauseofalackoffearfortheproducts
ingredients.InanarticleforanagriculturebiotechnologyjournalColinCarterandGuillaumeP.
GruereofUCDaviscontend:
Mandatorylabelingprovidesfoodprocessorsandretailersachoice,butitdoes
notfacilitateconsumerchoice.Becauseofrationalfoodprocessordecisions,
mandatorylabelingactsasamarketbarrier,andGMproductsdonotappearat
theretaillevel.Themandatorylabelingschemesinplacetodaymaybe
comparedtoavotingsystemwithmajorityrepresentation,wherethewinner
takesall.SomeconsumerswouldprobablybuyGMproductsiftheyhadthe
choice,butthemandatorylabelingsystemdoesnotgivethemanychoice.

Dalton7

TheeffectsthatantiGMlegislationwouldbringareevidentintheEUwheresuch
legislationhasalreadybeenexperimentedwith.Apolicyinspiredbynoscientific
reasoningandonlyfearasamotivatormustbesubjecttoargumentanddisapproval.As
well,geneticmodificationitselfmustbeopentoevolveandscrutiny.IfantiGM
legislationwerepassedforfoods,geneticmodificationinvolvedinthecreationof
medicinesandmanufacturedproductscouldbejeopardizedaswell.Apolicywith
questionablemotivationsandnoscientificreasoningbehinditshouldnotbegetting
supportfromaverageAmericansthoseAmericansthatquestionthesafetyoftheirfood
shouldinsteaddiscernthroughobjectiveanalysisifGMproductsarerightforthemand
choosetobuyproductslabelledasnaturalandorganiciftheyfindtheyhave
apprehensionsaboutingeatingcorngrownwithcheaperGMmethods.

Dalton8

Bibliography
Carter,Colin.,Gruere,GuillaumeP.MandatoryLabelingofGeneticallyModifiedFoods:
DoesitReallyProvideConsumerChoice?
AgBioForum
6.1&2(2003):6870.
AgBioForum.
Web.31July2015.
Duke,StephenO.,andStephenB.Powles."GlyphosateResistantCropsandWeeds:Nowand
intheFuture."
AgBioForum
12.3&4(2009):34657.
AgBioForum
.Web.31July
2015.
Hallman,WilliamKetal.
PublicPerceptionsofGeneticallyModifiedFoods:ANational
StudyofAmericanKnowledgeandOpinion
.FoodPolicyInstitute,2003.Web.31July
2015.
"H.R.1599SafeandAccurateFoodLabelingActof2015."
H.R.1599
.Congressional
ResearchService,25Mar.2015.Web.31July2015.
Kier,LarryD.,andDavidJ.Kirkland."ReviewofGenotoxicityStudiesofGlyphosateand
GlyphosateBasedFormulations."
CriticalReviewsinToxicology
43.4(2013):
283315.
InformaHealthcare
.Web.31July2015.
"LabelsforGMOFoodsIsaBadIdea."Editorial.
ScientificAmerican
20Aug.2013:n.pag.
ScientificAmerican
.NaturePublishingGroup.Web.31July2015.
Phillips,Theresa,PhD."GeneticallyModifiedOrganisms(GMOs):Transgenicand
RecombinantDNATechnology."
Nature.com
.NaturePublishingGroup,2008.Web.
31July2015.
"TelltheSenatetoProtectYourRighttoKnow:OpposetheDARKAct."
CenterforFood
Safety
.N.p.,n.d.Web.31July2015.

Dalton9

Upton,HaroldF.,Cowan,Tadlock"BilltoBanGeneticallyEngineeredSalmon."
BiotechnologyLawReport
30.3(2011):34344.30Apr.2014.Web.31June2015.