Would you question what is in your bread? Many of us don't think about what bread is made from because we think that we know. We are mistaken. We have become ignorant to the knowledge of our food. Food companies have developed the technology to genetically modify crops. What happens to a crop when it is genetically modified? Well, when a crop is genetically modified a part from the DNA of that crop is taken out and replaced with part of the DNA from an animal or bacteria. The DNA is changed to "better" the crop in some way according to the seed companies. The safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is unknown; Those who know about this are challenging the food companies to label their products that contain GMOs.  Genetically modified foods should be labeled because they are not proven to be safe, labeling requires the food industry to be transparent, and consumers should know what is in their food.

First a few opposing views will be addressed not only to acknowledge them, but for you to decide your stance on this issue. 

Taste can influence how someone perceives a GMO product. A study was conducted in four European countries testing the sensory experience of tasting a GMO food. The participants tasted the GMO food and the results came back as the experimental group had a positive experience tasting the GMO food (Bech-Larson, Grunert, and Lahteenmaki 104). It can be argued that GMOs are fine because they have a good taste. This argument does not correlate with the argument that GMOs are not proven to be safe. These large corporations may say that GMO foods are not proven to be unsafe, but they are also not proven to be safe. It is too early to tell.

The large corporations may argue that it would cost them too much to label GMO products. "But labeling would require substantial regulatory oversight by the FDA, burden food manufacturers and add to the cost of food" (Aschbrenner, Joel. Eller, Donnelle.). This may add a cost to food prices, but to know what is in the food that we eat would increase the health of consumers. Not only would consumers benefit from labeling the government would too because FDA could gain control of the food industry. If the government did this many consumers would have a positive view of the government.

There are no facts that prove that GMOs are safe for human consumption. Our grocery stores are packed full of products that contains either wheat, soybeans or corn. These crops are the ones that are genetically modified.  "...the Food and Drug Administration did not do its own safety testing of GMOs before they were put into our food supply," (Bartolotto). How can we, as consumers, know what is safe for us when we have put our trust into this large industry and all they want to do is make money by selling us these GMO products? There are several experts that say that there is no proof that GMOs are safe; Steven Dunker is an attorney and director for the Alliance for Bio-Integrity and said that, "seed companies have never provided evidence to the federal government showing that  any genetically modified food is safe'' (Aschbrenner, Joel. Eller, Donnelle.) The seed companies that first created GMO crops have not properly tested the crops before putting them into the market. Consumers could be eating something that is potentially dangerous to them. Our health and the health of our children is at risk, thus GMO foods should be labeled to protect us.	

Lets go back in history and look at another powerful industry: The tobacco industry. For years they marketed to the public how cool you would look smoking. The question of if it was safe was never considered by the consumer. History is repeating itself. We, the consumers are not told where they, the companies, are getting their food and the industry does not want us to see what is happening behind closed doors. In the film Food Inc. this issue is addressed: "The food has become much more dangerous in ways that are being hidden from us." The food industry needs to become more transparent to the consumer, but they don't because if the consumers knew where their food came from they would stop eating it. So, these large companies keep their farmers from talking about the GMO crops from the consumer such as Monsanto.Who is Monsanto? Monsanto is a chemical company that produces DDT, Agent Orange, and RoundUp. In 1980, when a law was passed allowing companies to patent life, a new opportunity arose. Later in 1996, Monsanto created a soybean resistant to the chemical RoundUp. They marketed it to farmers and by 2008, the patented soybean represents over ninety percent of the soybeans planted in the United States. 

As more people learn about this topic the more they are outraged. "The key issue here is transparency" (Eng). Outside of Monsanto world headquarters over five hundred non-GMO supporters marched on the opposite side of the street to protest the GMO crops Monsanto produces. A farmer that was present spoke up, saying that "Monsanto controls seed markets," (Leiser). He also offered seeds for any farmer that terminates their contract with Monsanto. Large food production supports large industry. Who do large industries support? "We have never had food companies this big and this powerful in our history" (Food Inc.). These food companies support candidates running for government offices and this gives them the advantage over the consumer in policy especially Monsanto. Because these former employees are in the government they can control if the GMO foods are labeled. Since government workers have ties with Monsanto and other seed companies they prevent labeling. The prevention of labeling keeps Monsanto happy and then they support those who are running for office. What does this say about our government?   

The normal consumer will not know how to pronounce some of the ingredients on a label of a produced food. If you cannot pronounce the ingredient in the food that you are eating, do you think that it is healthy for you? I say no. If you have no clue what any of the ingredients are in a food product you are buying, put it back on the shelf. Seventy-eight percent of the food in the grocery store have GMOs and much of the food contains GMO corn. "So much of our industrial food turns out to be clever rearrangements of corn," (Food Inc.). Our government pays farmers to produce as much corn as possible. With the abundance of corn we have chemically turned the crop into obscure ingredients in our food. Mark Lynas, who is an environmentalist and science writer, spoke at a food industry meeting about labeling GMO foods: "I'm here to challenge them and provoke them, which is why I told them today that they have to stop opposing GMO labeling. I believe people do have the right to know what's in their food, and they as an industry have a responsibility and a mandate to deliver on that" (Eng). Companies are spending millions of dollar to keep their food information from the consumers. As consumers we should demand to know what is in the food that we are buying. We are spending our hard earned money on food we think is safe for us. We are feeding our kids, the next generation, GMO foods that are potentially harmful. If we have no information on how safe our food is how can we trust these companies to tell us without proof?

Look at the ingredients of the food that you buy. It is so simple to check before you buy. You can change the market; make these companies label their GMO products. It is as simple as choosing your foods carefully. One less swipe at the grocery store by each of us can send the food industry the message. We can change the industry. Look at the tobacco industry and how as consumers we demanded to know the truth. We can overcome and discover the truth they are keeping from us.

