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Ian Kuo
Ms. Bolterstein
AP Biology
9 January 2015
GMO Label or No Labels.
As time goes on, technology has affected every part of the world. This has caused aspects
of life to change from the use of smartphones for everyday tasks to the food produced and
consumed each and every day. The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has, in recent
years, increased fear of what is being bought by consumers. GMOs are a strain or type of a
certain crop that is given a gene from an unrelated species containing the characteristics that
they want to transfer to the plant (Dahl). The controversy behind GMOs is whether or not
labeling is necessary on the products already being sold in the store. However, I believe both
biologically and economically, GMOs should remain unlabeled for the general public.
Biologically, many people have been afraid in recent years of the heath drawbacks seen
through the use of the genetic modifications. However, according to the Advancing Science,
Serving Society (ASSS), food containing ingredients from genetically modified crops pose no
greater risk than the same food made from crops modified by conventional plant breeding
techniques like the process of selective breeding that has been used for many years(Pinholster
2012). As well, this fear of GMOs doesnt make a person think about the amount of testing done
by many respectable organizations around the world including the WHO, AMA, US National
Academy of Science, the British Royal Society, and many more recognizable places that conduct
these rigorous analysis testing for the product approval. These places have almost all said that
there is no more risk between conventional plant growing and GMO plant growing. In addition
to this, if this issue is seen from a European Union citizen, it can tell a different opinion. In the
EU, it has been mandatory to label any genetically modified food or crop for sale since 1997.
Under this new mandatory labeling law, as much as 80% of consumers said they do not try to
avoid the GMO products when shopping. ("Opposition Decreasing or Acceptance Increasing?"
2009). As well, back in the United States, the most recent turn of events in the fight for labeling
was seen in both Washington and California. Surveys may show that there is support for the
genetic labeling, however both California and Washington citizens took a vote in 2012 and 2013,
respectively, and Washington became the second state in a row to reject labeling genetically

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modified foods as California being the first voting down a similar action in 2012. (Grovum
2013). Finally, economically, the labeling of GMOs is not needed especially because of the
negative stigma they hold in the consumer market. In countries with mandatory labeling, like the
EU, the negativity had caused retailers to completely pull the GMO products from the shelf
because if no one is buying the product because of the negativity on the food, then, in the eyes of
a retailer, it acts as a market barrier and GM products do not appear at the retail level (Carter
and Guillaume 2003). As a result, the retailer will remove the item and put a better selling one in
its place which, in the long run, hurts consumer choice.
However, there are many arguments that have been made against GMOs in which the
products should be labeled for the consumer use because of the fact that consumers should have
the knowledge of what they are eating. Some surveys have been taken showing the overall
support for labeling of these foods. For instance, a 2013 poll conducted by the New York Times
says that 93 Percent of respondents say that food containing [GMOs] should be identified and
75% of Americans express concern about [GMOs] (Kopicki 2013). Consumers want to know
what they are eating and have the ability to stay away from them if they are clearly labeled on
the product. In turn, there is a chance that more organic foods or foods that were conventionally
grown would be bought and, as a result, causing more demand in those foods because there is not
the added stigma of the unknown effects of GMOs as seen by the 15% increase in prices of non
GMO foods as opposed to normal crops (Charles 2014). However, primarily, many people in
the US have a fear of the harmful effects of using GMOs in eating and cooking as there is fear
that crops that are tampered with from their normal natural state could bring horrible
repercussions. For instance, in the world, plants produce many toxins that are consumed every
day. However they are at such low levels that they have little to no effect. The fear, thus, stems
from the idea that inserting an exotic gene into a plant could cause it to produce toxins at higher
levels which could affect humans in negative ways ("GMO: Harmful Effects." 2003). Finally,
the GMO labeling would also be wanted for religious reasons. For example, the Islamic faith has
many teaching in the religious book of the Quran about food and food ethics. The major concern
within the faith is the idea that food must be good, pure, and wholesome which goes against
the idea of the genetic modification of plants (Schatzschneider 2013). With labeling, the people
of certain faiths like Islam can be warned of the added genetic modification to a certain product
in the store.

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GMOs have been a popular topic of controversy of the last few years probably because
of the many different ways a person can look at the issue with their own personal opinion. GMO
foods/crops do not need to be labeled because of the low percentage of customers that actually
look at the label in the EU after 18 years of the mandatory law. Even the small amount of
customers that do look at the GMO label could cause discrimination by retailers to take those
foods off the shelves and lower consumer choice. As well, there is no health risk that has been
found by any respectable organization that adds risks to GMOs. On the other hand, labeling is
seen as needed because of the fear based on religious belief of eating impure food or on health
risks that the community thinks is in GMOs. As well, there are many surveys that point to the
use of labels wanted by customers. However, in the end, labeling is not needed. In the future,
what the world has to do is further publicize the use of GMOs in order to trump the ideas of the
fear out in the world that there are harmful effects in GMO crops and foods. Negativity can cause
fear and the fear is what makes the news. As well, WHO, AMA, among other organization need
to publicize how GMOs do not carry harmful effects as opposed to popular belief.

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Works Cited
"GMO: Harmful Effects." Environmental and Occupational Health. N.p., Fall 2003. Web. 06
Jan. 2015. <http://enhs.umn.edu/current/5103/gm/harmful.html>.
"Opposition Decreasing or Acceptance Increasing?" GMO Compass. GMO Compass, 16 Apr.
2009. Web. 8 Jan. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gmo-compass.org%2Feng%2Fnews
%2Fstories%2F415.an_overview_european_consumer_polls_attitudes_gmos.html>.
Carter, Colin A., and Guillaume P. Gruere. "Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Modified
Foods: Does It Really Provide Consumer Choice?"AgBioForum. AgBioForum, 2003.
Web. 08 Jan. 2015. <http://www.agbioforum.org/v6n12/v6n12a13-carter.htm>.
Charles, Dan. "Why The 'Non-GMO' Label Is Organic's Frenemy." NPR. NPR, 28 Feb. 2014.
Web. 08 Jan. 2015. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/02/28/283460420/why-thenon-gmo-label-is-organic-s-frenemy>.
Dahl, Richard. To Label or Not to Label. Environmental Health Prospectives 120.9 (2012):
A358-A361. Health Source Consumer Edition. Web. 29 Dec. 2014
Grovum, Jake. GMO labeling fails; Colorado rejects K-12 tax. Stateline.org (Washington,
DC) 06 Nov. 2013: Newspaper Source. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.
Kopicki, Allison. "Strong Support for Labeling Modified Foods." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 27 July 2013. Web. 02 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/science/strong-support-for-labeling-modifiedfoods.html?_r=1&>.
Pinholster, Ginger. "AAAS Board of Directors: Legally Mandating GM Food Labels Could
"Mislead and Falsely Alarm Consumers"" AAAS. AASS, 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 07 Jan.
2015. <http://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-board-directors-legally-mandating-gm-foodlabels-could-%E2%80%9Cmislead-and-falsely-alarm>.

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Schatzschneider, Isabel. "Islamic Perspective on Genetically Modified Food." Genetic Literacy

Project. Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics, 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 08 Jan.
2015. <http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2013/11/26/debating-genetically-modifiedfood-an-islamic-perspective/>.