President Obama signed a bill mandating food labeling indicating whether the food product contains “genetically modified organisms” (GMOs)—that is, ingredients bioengineered to improve the quality, nutrition, or productivity-enhancing traits. I call it fraud labeling. Why do I call this fraud labeling?
Here is the definition of Fraud: “A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to her or his legal injury.”
What is concealed? The fact that GMO foods have never been proven to carry any more risk to human health or the environment than non-GMO foods. But, thanks to the hysterical and unsupported propaganda claims of the anti-science primitives, GMO’s carry the stigma that non-GMO foods are safer. That’s what the label “non-GMO” implies. It’s a smear of genetically engineered foods or food containing GMOs. The label “non-GMO” is fraudulent for what it implies and is intended to imply.
Of course, supporters of the bill, which passed a heavily Republican Congress, argue for the labeling based on an alleged “right to know.” As Fortune reports:
GMOs are estimated to be in the majority of our food, somewhere between 75% and 80%. The Food and Drug Administration has said that they are safe for consumption, but most consumers argue that, safe or not, they have the right to know exactly what is in their food.
But there is no broad-based “right to know.” There is only the right to know that the product you are buying has been truthfully and fully represented with relevant information. Since GMO technology tells you nothing relevant about the food product—GM technology is just the latest and most precise method of employing the millennium-long practice of genetically modifying crops, which includes selective breeding, ionization radiation, and chemical processes—there is no reason to place GMO labeling on food packages other then to pander to anti-biotech alarmism and ignorance.
The government should not mandate food labeling. It should focus its energies on vigorously prosecuting fraudulent claims in food labeling. It’s bad enough that the FDA allows voluntary food packaging containing the non-GMO label, thus allowing backdoor fraud to go on unrestricted. At the least, the “non-GMO” label should be accompanied by a disclaimer that “The FDA has determined that GMO ingredients are safe for consumption.” It’s worse that GMO labeling will now be mandatory, even if in the watered-down form approved by Congress and signed by Obama. The government is pandering to ignorance and anti-science to the point of contributing to fraud.
Related Reading:
107 Nobel laureates sign letter blasting Greenpeace over GMOs—Washington Post
Why ‘GMO-free’ is a marketing ploy you shouldn’t fall for—Washington Post
Are GMO crops safe? Focus on the plant, not the process, scientists say.—Washington Post
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