The Politics Over GM Food
The debate over GM food still remains unsettled as ever. It has been going on for several years now. Both sides have their own strong points and why they stand firm on that. But while the debate has been going on through various avenues, probably one of the most tightly contested battlegrounds remains to be on the political front. Those for and against GM food have long battling it out in order to influence Washington and what policies that it might make next concerning GM foods. And it has been a cruel fight right from the get go.
GM Food Labeling
One of the most argued issues in Washington today over GM food is whether or not such products will require proper GMO labeling. This issue over labeling has been going on for so long now. The funny thing is that this issue is still far from being settled. There are the lobbyists on Washington that represent consumer’s rights to know what they are buying and call for GM food labeling. There is also a lobbying group on the other side representing big business in the biotech and the food industry that tries to stop it. Both try to convince the government about their stand on GM food labeling.
Biotech Companies
On the part of those against GM food labeling, they assert that it would affect the public perception of GM foods negatively. They highlight that GMO’s were designed to help develop drought resistant plants, help prevent soil erosion, as well as feed the hungry all over the world as a result of robust harvests. They also assert that not all GM plants were being made to end up as food products. There are GM plants that are being developed to provide alternatives to oil. They say that GMO labeling may also affect such non-food industries over time.
Organic Business
But on the other side of the GM debate spectrum, it is not just merely the consumer activists that call for proper GM labeling. There are also businesses that belong to the organic food industry that are up in arms in the struggles that they are currently facing. While the market for organic food is still considerably increasing, the businesses and producers in this sector are finding it harder and harder to locate viable sources for their organic products. Lax regulations in the past have led a majority of agricultural land in the US to be planted with GM crops. And with organic farms being more tightly regulated for their products has the organic farmers and businesses crying foul. It is also the lax regulations that have led many consumer groups to complain.
Consumer Groups
One of the key arguments that many consumers make to drive proper GM food labeling is that many of the GM crops now being planted in the open fields of big agricultural farms seem to lack from the proper safety testing. This may have led consumers to believe that the lack of safety testing may provide some unknown harmful risks on the human population over time. The consumers are asserting their right to know and the right to information by fighting for proper GM food labeling.
Current Stance
By the looks of it, the US government’s stand as of the moment might be with the biotech industry. After all, biotechnology is considered big business in the US and the government is not likely to do anything rash and cause it to fail. It is evidenced by the lack of safety oversight over the GM plants during its early days. And with the money that biotech companies now hold, they are not likely to just sit down watch things go against them. They are trying to solidify their hold on Washington and that has been the barrier that the opposing groups have long been trying to break.
Genetic Modification – GuideTo.Com
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