Tuesday, January 29, 2013

GMO up for questioning - Life - The IUSB Preface - Indiana University South Bend

GMO up for questioning - Life - The IUSB Preface

Maybe, however, what I’m more uncomfortable with about GMOs is the business practices that companies like Monsanto have adopted over the years. 

Monsanto, one of the most vilified manufacturers of GMOs, has also been wildly successful. From multiple documentaries I’ve watched, articles and testimonies found over the years, I’ve seen a lack of care for farmers, their practices and livelihood from large companies. 

Sure, businesses need to be run efficiently and be self-sustaining. But creating seeds that produce a crop without viable seeds to store for next planting season, suing farms for “stealing” their seeds when they have blown across a road and sprouted, and testing for cross-pollination with a brand crop all seem like ugly business practices to me. 

Ignoring nature when one is in the business of producing seed to be planted in the earth seems like a recipe for disaster. Depending on who you ask, you might hear that it has been a disaster.

Should GMO foods be labeled if the government sees no issue with them?  I should like to think people should have a choice about what they put in their bodies. If a technology isn’t trusted universally, then why not label it and let the consumer decide? If there is truly no harm in the product, labeling should just be a bit of a nuisance, not a business-breaking legislature.

Independent research and findings need to be pushed to the forefront of the debate on GMOs.  Research done by those with a profit to make may be well done, but the same results should be gleaned by those without the same incentive. 

Regardless of the status of the produce you choose to purchase, educating yourself on your choices has never been more important.

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