Consumers should know if their food is genetically engineered

Posted

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently approved a genetically engineered apple that won’t brown when it is dented, bruised or sliced. The Frankenapple, as it’s being called, may soon hit grocery store shelves alongside Granny Smiths and Golden Delicious apples, but it won’t have a label warning consumers that it has been altered. We’ll have no idea that the apple in our shopping cart is anything but all-natural because current New York law does not require labeling genetically modified food products.

The producers of the Frankenapple, and other genetically modified foods (GMOs) like it, leave consumers in the dark about what they eat because they are not mandated to label what’s in their food products. We don’t have a choice between buying GMO apples or non-GMO apples because we have no clue which is which.

Yet, despite over 90 percent of Americans supporting GMO labeling, we have no rules in place for labeling genetically modified food products.

Why isn’t this already law? Big food and beverage companies, like Kraft and Coca-Cola, are the main opponents to GMO labels and they are spending millions of dollars to lobby against labeling bills.

But our elected officials in Albany, including Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, now have the opportunity to stand up for consumers’ rights and support bill A.617 to mandate GMO labeling.

While the corporations claim that labeling is too expensive, the truth is that no negligible impact on costs has been found. In countries where labeling is mandatory, including the European Union, there has been no noticeable impact on costs or food prices.

Food labeling is a crucial part of how we decide what to eat. From labels disclosing the amount of sugar to whether or not the product is made from concentrate, our decisions rely on the availability of this information and we expect to have it. GMO labeling should be no different.

The impact of GMOs on the human body is also of concern to consumers. Since their risks aren’t well-documented, without labeling we are unable to measure their long term health effects. The FDA has weak oversight and management of GMO products, and since GMO producers are not required to run safety tests of new GMO food products, they often do not.

Bronx families have some of the city’s highest obesity rates and lack access to nutritious food. They should not be deceived by food products that may pose health risks. Without labels, the Frankenapple we buy and eat may end up being a monster to our well being.

Instead of leaving consumers in the dark about what is on their dinner plates and caving in to corporate interests, policy makers should support GMO labeling to bring clarity to what is in the food we eat.

We hope Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie will support bill A.617 and bring it to the floor for a vote. Now is the right time to move this important legislation forward.

Bryan Wigfall is a student at Bronx Community College and a member of NYPIRG’s board of directors. Point of view is a column open to all.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Frankenappie, Granny Smiths, Golden Delicious, GMO, Kraft, Coca-cola, Albany, Carl Heastie, European Union, FDA, Bronx Community College, NYPIRG

Comments