Snyder 1

Gabe Snyder
Professor Blakelock
English 2100
8 February 2015
The Food We Eat
Throughout past years the food industry has changed the ways that it makes the food we
all enjoy. Recent developments in the food production has made it more accessible and people
are able to produce more food. By altering the DNA of products, companies are able to make
different products bigger and better. But have these changes really helped improve our lives?
GMO products can have negative impacts on our lives that everybody should be made aware of
and should not be kept hidden from us. The United States should be forced to label all GMO
products and people need to learn about the side effects it has.
The United States has had an ongoing debate since 2012 about whether or not Genetically
Modified Organism (GMO) products should be labeled. According to the National Conference of
State Legislatures, 28 states introduced labeling bills in 2014, four have held ballot measure
elections, and two states have passed legislation mandating GMO labels (Bain and Dandachi).
Despite having defeats in the ballot box, the anti-GMO movement has succeeded in reigniting a

Snyder 2
national debate and raising public awareness about GMO products (Bain and Dandachi). As
more people become aware of the facts of GMO products, they are going to want to know what
is in each food item that they purchase. The people of the United States have a right to know
what they are consuming.

What is GMO? GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. GMOs have been
changed by altering their genetic make-up. They have been changed by mutating, inserting, or
erasing genes, by using genetic engineering techniques. It is mostly used in food and medicine.
There are many advantages and disadvantages to the use of GMO (Goldbas).
The counter argument to labeling GMO products is that GMO is similar to regular or
organic products and doesnt need to be labeled. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
has determined that GMO foods are considerably similar to non-GMO foods and therefore
labeling is not required (Bain and Dandachi). People also argue that labeling products would be
quite costly to the people of the US and food companies. GMO labeling would have an
enormous impact on the US agri-food system where 90 percent of all corn, soybeans and sugar
beets are genetically engineered and 80 percent of all processed food includes at least on
ingredient derived from a genetically engineered crop (Bain and Dandachi).

Snyder 3
GMO products can have major consequences on people of the US and animals that
consume the crops. Genetically modified seeds can easily spread through the air and contaminate
organic and non-GMO crops (Smith). This will cause less and less organic and natural products
for people against GMO. Colony collapse disorder in bees have been associated with
neonicotinoid insecticides used in genetically modified corn seeds (Smith). A research study on
animals show serious health risks from eating genetically modified foods, including infertility,
accelerated aging, organ damage, and cancer (Smith). This should alarm all Americans because
the organs and bodies in animals work very similarly to animals and mean that it is most likely
happening to people that consume GMO products. Switching to non-GMO products or organic
foods would make a big difference in your health and you can avoid the risks that come with
Genetically Modified Organism.
There is some potential listed that improves health as an effect from Genetically Modified
Organism. GMOs provide potential for production of pharmaceuticals and vaccines which will
be easier to handle than traditional injectable vaccines. Also Genetically Modified Organism can
majorly increase crop yield. GMO application in stem cell research which can help to replace
damaged or diseased tissues in the body (Amofah). Being able to make more crops and food for
people is a big positive but at what cost if the long and short term effects can cause aging, cancer,
and a quicker death. GMO can help with countries who are trying to prevent starvation and

Snyder 4
malnutrition. Food plants have become pest-resistant and have added nutritional values which
can be great for malnourished people. There is also genetically modified animals such as dairy
cows and fish. The cow has been modified in some places to represent human breast milk. This
can help with mothers are physically unable to provide breast milk to their children. A new
salmon fish has been developed that can grow in half the time and twice the size of an ordinary
salmon (Goldbas).
The United States need to raise the awareness of Genetically Modified Organisms to all
people so that they understand what they are consuming and the effects that come with
consuming GMOs. Americans opinions about Genetically Modified Organism labels depend
on their beliefs about GMO foods, their actual knowledge and awareness of GMO foods, and the
inferences they draw from these labels (Hemphill and Banerjee). If the United States were to
inform people on Genetically Modified Organisms a grander number of people would want to
enforce a law requiring the labeling of GMO.
In order to raise the awareness of the people in the United States government should label
all products that have GMO in the ingredients. There has been a bill recently introduced which
authorizes the Food and Drug Administration to require labels disclosing material differences
between GMO and non-GMO food (Hemphill and Banerjee). If this bill were to pass it would

Snyder 5
greatly cause awareness for all people and would most likely cause a decrease in the purchasing
of any Genetically Modified Organism product.
There is a great unknown with Genetically Modified Organisms because of the fact that it
is not forced to be labeled on products. In Linda Marsas article she states that about 75 percent
of processed foods contain genetically engineered ingredients. As a result, thousands of
products containing GMO ingredients have been eaten by millions of people. Since there is no
labeling of these products there is no way to trace back possibly hostile health concerns (Marsa).
The FDA has ruled that because DNA is in every living organism, crops engineered with
additional genes are the same as other foods. Scientists say that there is no credible evidence that
Genetically Modified Foods are safe to eat. The FDA does not require any significant safety
testing (Marsa).
There are different types of food altering that is considered a Genetically Modified
Organism. High fructose corn syrup is one of the major concerns with food altering. It is corn
syrup that has undergone enzymatic processing to convert it from glucose to fructose (Priesnitz).
Up to ten percent of all calories Americans consume is high fructose corn syrup. A Princeton
University research team found that long term consumption of this product can lead to abnormal
increases in body fat and cause a rise in circulating blood fats (Priesnitz).

Snyder 6
There are things that we can do in order to be safe from GMO foods. Demanding safer
food laws, growing your own produce organically, buying products that are organic or labeled as
non-GMO, and cooking food from scratch are a few of the options that people have (Priesnitz).
Americans should be able to choose what they eat, but clear food labeling has restricted that
freedom of knowing what we consume. The best way to avoid pesticide and GMOs is by
growing your own produce. Buying organic products can be expensive, but the value to your
familys health is worth it (Priesnitz).
Foods are meant to be eaten naturally and without any tampering with. GMO foods may
be able to produce more crops but to what cost. The negative effects shown from consuming
Genetically Modified foods are just too great to overcome. Every person has the ability to make
their own choices. Labeling foods that are GMO gives people the information they need to be
able to make the decision of whether consuming the product is worth the consequences.
Self-Reflection
I am very interested in the topic of GMO. I have always tried to be aware of everything
that I eat and make sure I pick the healthier or organic option. I have narrowed the topic down to
the labeling of GMO and effects that these products may have on people. The sources have
added a lot of counter arguments or positive effects that GMO has that I might not have known
about.

Snyder 7

Annotated Bibliography
Diane Smith, Melissa. Food Matters. Go Non-GMO. Better Nutrition 76.1 (2014): 64.
CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
Melissa Diane Smiths article offers many good points on effects of GMO food. The article
suggests that you should stay away from any GMO food and replace it with Organic. An animal
study done showed that when livestock switch to non-GMO feed their health drastically
improves. This is also shown in people. This source shows facts and reasons as to why people are
going non-GMO.

Amofah, George. Recommendations From A Meeting On Health Implications Of Genetically

Modified Organism (Gmo). Ghana Medical Journal 48.2 (2014): 117-119. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
George Amofahs article hits some points on why GMO products are used. Some reasons it lists
as advantages for using GMO is that it reduces use of chemicals and pesticides on insect resistant
plants and that you can use the technology for Gene therapy. The article also explains some of
the concerns and negative health impacts that GMO has. GMO has a potential for unpredictable
mutations in the organism with consequential medico-legal events.

Snyder 8

Hemphill, Thomas A., and SYAGNIK BANERJEE. Mandatory Food Labeling For Gmos.
Regulation 37.4 (2014): 7-10. Business Source Complete. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
Hemphill and Banerjees article is about GMO food labeling. The article suggests that American
consumers have a right to know what specific ingredients are in their processed foods. They also
emphasize consumer choice that they have a right to decide what ingredients they ingest. A
negative effect that the article suggests is that a labeling bill would cost families in the state of
New York an average of $500 per year.

Bain, Carmen and Tamera Dandachi. Governing Gmos: The (Counter) Movement For
Mandatory And Voluntary Non-GMO Labels. Sustainability (2071-1050) 6. 12 (2014):
9456-9476. Food Science Source. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
Bain and Dandachis article is about the use of GMO labeling. The article shows that the agrifood industry is overwhelmingly opposed to mandatory labeling saying that GMO foods are safe
and mandatory labels would have a costly effect on consumers and producers. Consumers say
that they deserve a right to know what they are buying and should be able to choose what they
purchase.

Snyder 9

Goldbas, Abbie. Gmos: What Are They? International Journal of Childbirth Education 29.3
(2014): 20. Supplemental Index. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
Abbie Goldbass article is very informative and gives evidence on the positive and negative
effects from GMO. The article shows that GMOs have been changed by altering their genetic
makeup. They are changed by mutating, inserting, or erasing genes, by using genetic engineering
techniques. This article gives me a lot of good info about what GMOs are and why they are used.

Priesnitz, Wendy. What Are They Doing To Our Food? And What Can We Do About It?
Natural Life 145 (2012): 16-17. Alt HealthWatch. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
Wendy Priesnitzs article gives good information about GMO. It gives different types of GMO
that companys use and describes what each thing is. Food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, and
pink slime are all types of GMO that are described in the article. The article also gives ideas on
what people can do to stay away from GMO products and how to get laws in place that will
demand GMO labeling on all products.

Snyder 10