Eli Tsakiris  

Group Seeks Special Label for Food: ‘Natural’

Summary: This article tells about a group that is seeking a new label on GMO foods. The trade organization mentioned in the article still believes that these GMO foods can be labeled as “Natural”. Connecticut has already passed this law and allows the GMO containing foods to be labeled as “natural”. Some people believe this is a misnomer because the foods have been intentionally altered, unnaturally, in order to have characteristics valued by the companies. Many people are afraid of these GMOs and believe they cause health problems and are attempting to avoid them completely. This label is argued to misinform the people and almost trick some into eating GMOs they do not wish to consume. The article also cites other lawsuits in process regarding companies that used the label “natural” but were found to have artificial chemicals or flavors in their product. The exact meaning of the label is still being decided and many people argue that it should not be allowed on these GMO products.

Connection: This connects to our section on recombinant DNA technology. We talked about how technology is now so advanced that we are facing moral questions before we face materialistic problems. Since the effects of GMO are not known on the body we cannot be sure weather or not the foods are harmful or benign. We talked about how companies can utilize the different genes from foreign species to make their product more productive, and since this is so effective many companies do not think to consider the potentially negative side effects. The companies may realize the potential, but they still lobby to create a label that can trick people into thinking their food is completely natural. Until we know more about the effects of genetically modifying food, we cannot title the foods as natural.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/business/trade-group-seeks-natural-label-on-modified-food.html?adxnnl=1&ref=geneticallymodifiedfood&adxnnlx=1389791886-Yl+zSzFPViAAVMgZ7d+NRA