Argument Essay Draft
Should GMOs be labeled?
You just sat down with a nice, hot slice of pizza after a long day of hard work. You take a bite, and then another, and then another until you have finished the whole slice. Little do you know you have been eating GMOs. GMO: When DNA (chemicals) from one food is injected into another food. Doesn’t that sound intriguing… I didn’t think so. Let’s be more specific: GMOs occur when scientists take genes from a food, such as a kiwi and puts it into another food, like a tomato to make it have the same genes. But, then again, how would you know if you have been eating these GMOs, because it is not labeled on most food labels. The thing is, we don’t know if GMOs are dangerous or not. So, GMOs should be labeled because people don’t know if GMOs are safe.
GMOs should be labeled because people don’t know if they are dangerous. One thing that people don’t know is if GMOs can cause allergies. Richard Dahl, author of the article “To Label or Not to Label” introduces his readers to possible health issues when people consume food that has been genetically altered. He helps us to understand that “If you take a gene from the kiwi fruit, put it into a tomato, and the tomato gets turned into sauce for your pizza, and there’s an allergic reaction, only the genetically altered tomato would produce that allergic reaction” Food allergies can be a serious health concern for those who have them. Most who suffer from allergies carefully monitor the foods they consume to avoid what might make them sick. Dahl tells us that, with GMOs it can be difficult or impossible to know exactly what DNA is included in your everyday meal. The article “GE Foods Can Cause Allergic Reactions”, the authors from Organic Consumers Association (OCA) inform the reader the risks that come with genetically modified foods. They explain, “Soy beans, corn, canola, and cotton are the most widely grown GMO crops… The list also includes: peppers, peanuts, potatoes, sugar beets, sunflowers, and tomatoes. There is a concern that GM foods pose an allergy risk. Currently that list of GM food products intersect with the eight most common food allergens: eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.” The most common foods that causes allergic reactions contain GMOs. The OCA shows the reader that the most common GM foods are some of the most common allergy foods. The scary part is, we don’t know if GMOs are what causes these reactions. We also don’t know if they are even in certain foods because they aren’t labeled. All in all GMOs should be labeled because they could potentially be causing allergic reactions.
GMOs should be labeled because there is no information on how it affects our health. The article “Should Companies be required to label genetically modified food?” published in The Wall Street Journal points out to the reader that there are possibilities of GMOs affecting your health in negative ways. It is said that, “Consumers, the advocates say, should be well informed of what’s in their food. Further, they argue, genetically modifying food carries risks while providing few nutritional benefits.” There is no official proof that GMOs are dangerous. This shows that because of this uncertainty GMOs should be labeled of the possible risks you could be taking to alter your health badly. People should have the right to know what they are consuming. Gary Hirshberg, Chairman of Stonyfield Farm, said a speech in the video “Why Genetically Engineered Foods Should Be Labeled: Gray Hirshberg at TedxManhattan 2013” justifies to his viewers that GMOs should be labeled. Hirshberg explains that GMOs should be labeled because of the possibilities of affecting your health badly. He talks about how, the potential health concerns of GMOs are contained in many foods. He reveals that “we were told by these very same chemical companies who own these crops when herbicide tolerant crops, which is the primary gene available in these crops, when they were first introduced, we were told that they would actually result in a reduction of herbicide usage. But, here’s actually what’s happened, we have seen since 1996, since these crops were introduced, a 527 million pound increase in herbicides” The usage of herbicides have increased tremendously and so have concerns of people consuming the herbicides. He also says “ I will tell you that the mellmen group has done research showing that 92% of Americans, when given the choice, say that they prefer to know whether these crops or ingredients are in our food or not” GMOs are shown to be potentially hazardous and that many people want to be informed of this on their food labels. Hirshberg tells us that, GMOs could pose a threat to our health and that we should be informed when GMOs are contained in our foods. Because of this, GMOs should be labeled.
Now, some people might say, GMOs aren’t dangerous so they shouldn’t have to be labeled. This is because all of this “GMO stuff being dangerous” is not actually a definite, and we really don’t know if they are dangerous. In the article “Should GMOs Be Labeled”, the author, Amir Khan informs the reader that GMOs shouldn’t have to be labeled because they may not even be bad for you. Khan tell his readers, “Some studies have even found that some GMOs may even be good for you.” Yes, GMOs may not be bad for you, but they may be. The whole point of GMOs being labeled has nothing to do with exactly if it is absolutely bad for you, or it is absolutely good for you, it’s the fact that we don’t know. We don’t know if it causes allergic reactions, or if they don’t and we don’t know if it affects your health negatively or positively. Richard Dahl, author of the article “To Label or Not to Label”, informs the reader about this uncertainty. He says, “There’s no conclusive evidence that GE [GMO] foods are unsafe, there also is no conclusive evidence that they are.” GMOs could be fine or they could be really bad, but the fact that we don’t know the answer to that is very alarming, leaving many people concerned and wanting to know if it is in their food by just looking at the label. This shows that GMOs may not be 100% dangerous, but, they can be, so they should be labeled on food products.
In the end GMOs should be labeled on all food products because they can be the cause of food allergies, or affect your health it a negative way. It is very alarming that these things that are going in our food, that we are consuming, isn’t absolutely safe. In the words of Gary Hirshberg “This is a fight about whether our government is of, for, and by the people or of, for, and by a handful of chemical companies”
