On genetically engineered food, let the market decide

The following is an edited excerpt.

The movement to force the labeling of genetically engineered food is gaining momentum.  Federal legislation carried by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., would mandate labeling most bioengineered food nationwide.

Yet the movement’s argument is weakened by the lack of evidence that inserting fragments of DNA into crops harms our health. Pro-labeling activists – who also tend to be anti-Monsanto activists – point to polls finding that most Americans want the information labeled. But there is plenty about our food that consumers might like to know that is not on the labels. Food packages don’t have to include information about the use of pesticides or hormones. There is evidence that the widespread use of antibiotics in livestock, not to treat illness but to fatten animals and prevent disease from sweeping through crowded pens, is contributing to the rise of drug-resistant infections that threaten human health. Yet antibiotic use also remains unlabeled, and most consumers are unaware of the practice.

Read the original article in its entirety here: On genetically engineered food, let the market decide

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