GMO Food labeling initiative

GMO food labeling - what's your take?

CA recently shot down a similar initiative, now WA looks like it'll shoot it down as well.

I'm torn on this one.
The campaign funding is shocking. Monsanto (and other big corps) provided much of the anti campaign budget. I hate that corporations can essentially buy the vote, and that special interests rule our government. I'd love to see an initiative created by the people truly stick it to the man...

However as someone who sides more with Libertarian than anything, I'm against government involvement. Let corporations do their thing, as long as they're not breaking the law. We as the consumers should take some responsibility and not rely on the govt to make our decisions for us. If you don't want to eat GMO food, do the research yourself and make your own decisions.


Now, why GMO is so bad might be a whole different topic. I think these campaigns are pure fear mongering - preying on the naiveté of the population. People don't really know what GMO actually means, and they fear what they don't know.

 

Which is tough since the corporations are the ones who are, de facto, making the laws.

 

If the food isn't labeled, how are we supposed to research and know what we're eating?

 

As a general principle, you should probably support anything that Monsanto is against.

And I don't think you should look at it the government making your decisions for you. It's more like the government making sure you have the information you need to make a decision for yourself. As a libertarian, would you also prefer to have to research the expiration date on your ground beef? Having it provided to you on a label is pretty convenient. I think that's the good kind of nanny state interference. Wouldn't you agree?

 

Indeed.

In general, I do agree. I think the current initiative on the ballot would have been poorly implemented however. It had several exceptions and some overall weirdness to what "had" to be labeled.

If Monsanto was FOR food labeling, would people automatically be against it? I think so.

 

Do you really think there would be no expiration dates on ground beef if it weren't for the government?
I think it's more accurate to say that the government likes to make sure that you get only the information they want you to have to coerce you to make the decisions they want you to make.

 

That would imply that there is information the government does not allow to be printed on your food packaging. What would be examples of that?

 

I just wrote a 5 page essay paper on this. I can cut and paste it

My view. I think it should be.

Go watch Food Inc on
YouTube.

 

I know I would be. Because that would be too suspicious.

 

I think the US is one of the few countries left in the world where GMO labeling isn't required. I figure if Monsanto is willing to spend millions and millions fighting the labeling that's a good reason for it. There's a reason they don't want you to know what you're eating.

They've also spent a bunch of money fighting processors who want to put No GMO ingredients, No BST etc. on their labels.

 

Monsanto has all this power because they patented a seed. I still think that is ridiculous. But look at the share holders and you can see this is a can't miss business model.

Monsanto now owns Blackwater (now Xe). As one of the most hated companies in America I think they were sending a message with that one.

 

What, exactly, is the purpose of labeling the food as GMO?
From some of the reading I've done, there seems to be a lot of myth and a lot of politics involved in this whole debate. What valuable information is being given to consumers that is allowing them to make some choice that is beneficial to them?
Just the fact that the labeling is required implies there is something legitimately negative, so I can see where Monsanto might take exception to that.

 

There are people who feel we don't know enough about the long-term consequences of GMO and would rather avoid them. Labeling the food allows them to make that decision.

What's the downside of providing the information? How is the government making you eat or not eat something by just telling you what it is?

 

GMOs attack aluminum foil, Papa.

 

I thought I explained that. The required labeling adds implied legitimacy to the argument that there is something wrong with the GMO food.
Certainly the fact that there are entities putting forth the idea that there is something that may be wrong with this food factors in to that.

While GMO refers to artificial genetic modification, plants and animals have been naturally genetically modified for a very long time. That doesn't make the results suspect as a food source.

 

That is your opinion. Others have the opposite. Since there are two sides to the issue doesn't it make sense to mark the items so people know when to apply their opinion?

 

Anybody who views man made, almost instant, genetic modification as something akin to genetic evolution is an idiot.

 

Not necessarily. I was talking to one of the vendors at a farmers market one time about his "farm". Turns out almost all of the vendors at his particular market just bought the same wholesale vegetables as the grocery stores. The only difference was the way they were displayed.

 

That definitely happens. Out of season produce is a dead give away IMO.