Genetically Modified Foods: To Label or Not To Label?

Plants or animals that are created through gene slicing techniques of genetic engineering are called genetically modified organisms or, GMOs. This technique for creating plants and animals was first done in the 1970s. According to Non-GMO Project, “This experimental technology merges DNA from different species, creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding.” (Non-GMO Project). This type of genetic modification has started to worry people. Companies are currently not required to label their products to inform customers that their product contains GMOs, and only a few of the many companies voluntarily label their products as GMO-free.

Many such as, Journalist for the Santa Fe New Mexican, Jessica Emerson, feel like it is our right to know what companies are putting in the foods we are buying. There are others that disagree such as, physician and molecular biologist Henry Miller; he argues that it is unnecessary and unconstitutional for companies to be required to label their products. This has made quite a controversy. Products sold in Oregon that contain GMOs should be required to be clearly labeled so consumers can make healthy and informed choice on the foods they decide to purchase.

The use of GMOs in foods has drastically risen in the United States. The Non-GMO project, a non-profit organization supports this by saying, “In the U.S., GMOs are in as much as 80% of conventional processed food”(Non-GMO Project). I decided to go shopping to try and find as many products as I could that were labeled GMO-free, I only found one product labeled GMO-free. Many people that purchase vegetables or fruits at the store are unaware that the foods they ar...

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