The fight over genetic engineering boils down to this underlying disagreement: Consumers want to know what is in the foods they are eating. They want government — either their state or, better yet, the federal government — to require growers and processors to label their products to disclose the presence of GMOs so shoppers know what is in the foods they are buying at the supermarket.
Those growers, manufacturers and processors don’t want to be forced to go to the expense of labeling their many products. And they especially don’t want the government telling them what they must do. Besides, these companies say, research has shown that GMOs are not harmful to people’s health.
Corporate America is fighting a losing battle over the GMO issue. Consumers wanted to know — and now product labels tell them — how much sugar is in their foods. Consumers have been pressuring restaurant chains to post the calorie counts for their various products, and those chains are coming around to understand the consumers’ wishes.
It’s the same with the use of GMOs. Congress should set a nationwide standard of disclosure and then let the individual consumers decide whether the presence of GMOs in a product is something that concerns them.
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But keeping consumers in the dark is never the right thing to do.
Read the full, original article: The Register’s Editorial: It’s time for Congress to require GMO labeling
