This week the popular grocery chain, Whole Foods Market, announced a five-year initiative requiring labeling of any genetically modified (GMO) products sold in their stores by 2018. This bold move would make Whole Foods Market the first retailer in the United States to exclusively label all GMO ingredients. A. C. Gallo, president of Whole Foods, believes that this initiative will ultimately increase consumer sales. However, many analysts disagree and believe this action to be detrimental, as customers may surmise the products to be "potentially risky" or unappealing.
[The] proponents of labeling insist that consumers have a right to know about the ingredients in the food they eat, and they contend that some studies in rats show that bioengineered food can be harmful."
Genetically modified organisms have surged since their introduction in the 1990's, due to their crop efficiency and yield production. In today's health-crazed society, some people have adopted a strictly organic lifestyle after research has indicated that some GMO's may be linked to potential health hazards. This is why it is such a shocking decision by Whole Foods Market, a staple of organic eating, to publically include blatant labels of each and every GMO sold in stores. Why are they even selling these products in the first place? Although their decisions favors the health of their customers, it is odd for a business to put themselves in risky peril.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="259" caption="Whole Foods Market Organic Section"]
In a study conducted by the Mellman Group last 2012 election, "more than 90% of respondents" were in favor of food labeling as a way of protecting themselves. Other major grocery chains, like Wal-Mart, have also been rumored to begin a labeling initiative. State legislatives and governmental regulatory agencies that oppose such an action have been feeling the heat from customers on social media outlets. Some consumers are planning a staged "eat-in" at FDA offices within the next few months in order to combat the use of GMO's in general. Either way, it is important to understand what your body is ingesting, but at what lengths will businesses jeopardize themselves to give the public the information they deserve?
[For more on this topic, please visit the following: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/business/grocery-chain-to-require-labels-for-genetically-modified-food.html?_r=0 & http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/08/whole-foods-gmo-labeling-2018_n_2837754.html]
I am not opposed to GMO foods, but I am glad they are actually going to require labeling. People may be allergic to the modified gene put into the food and have a serious reaction.
ReplyDeleteI agree there should be better labeling on our food products. The consumers of today are becoming educated in this area of misleading, unidentifying and often ignored way of presenting foods.
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