Alaina Brown Proposal Draft ENGL 2010 If it isnt harmful, then whats the harm in labeling?

In our country today big topics have emerged causing a ripple effect drawing attention to the topic of genetically engineered foods. This attention is due to the necessary health care reforms that are taking place in our country and the precipitating causes for the reform. Influential articles such as The Bitter Pill released in Time magazine, explaining how overpriced our medical bills have become and how common disease and cancers have also become in the previous years for us as a population. More and more people are willing to listen to the possible reasons for the increase in prevalence as to stop the occurrence in their own lives due to the high stress situations we are all in currently due to the economic status. This is how my topic came to be such a widely discussed popular topic now across our country and the rest of the world. People now are willing and ready to listen than ever before on the question of what is really in our food? What is causing all of the high statistics for sickness in our country? The documentary film Sicko, directed by Michael Moore asked us as a society why we are so sick compared to other countries and why in the land of the free our health care system abandons those that need help from it the most. So many people have been listening and feeling the build up on this topic for a long time and because of that there is so much available research already conducted. We all want the facts and to be able to protect ourselves BEFORE this situation becomes our harsh reality and we are at the mercy of these exaggerated hospital prices. The topic of GMO foods with all of the research backing its claims about exactly what is being done to our food that is distributed in America as

well as the blatant outrage on the product from other countries is making the topic seem like a no brainer. One woman from Scotland was quoted in the News 8 GMO report saying, I know that theyre un-natural. I dont want to eat them. I definitely want to know if theyre in the food that Im buying. I dont want to spend money on food that has GMOs in it said Susan Powers. We should have the right to choose when some people feel as strongly as this woman does on the subject of eating GMO foods. This movement has been picking up speed in recent years due to this long time in the making culmination for people to take control of their health as well as the health of their families and learn to avoid illness before it occurs by taking matters into your own hands. We all have even more reasons than ever before to be interested now in the question of whether or not we should be eating these foods and why are corporations so afraid to label what is going into the process of growing or rather creating our food. The corporations dont seem to be letting this one happen quietly, as they spent over $33 million dollars this year alone fighting the potential bill requiring labeling of GMO products in food distributed for human consumption as well as animal feed. This huge display opposing the bill has caught the attention of even more people noticing GMO company discrepancies and becoming educated on and interested in what genetically engineered food is really all about. It is causing Americans to ask themselves, if there is no harm in the product, why wont corporations label what is in it? At the very least give those who would like the chance to make the decision for themselves the option as to what they do and dont put into their bodies since we will each be the one responsible for picking up the medical bill tab for each thing that malfunctions for us physically. Naturally, voices are being heard more than ever before. Each of us has the ability to have our voice heard and to make this change in our world today for the better. There are numerous ways in which we can have our voices heard through this chaos. Mothers are petitioning school boards for GMO

free school lunch food for their children which is attracting attention to the topic. There I an app for your smart phone that you can download called, Buycott that allows you to sign their petition joining the numbers of those acting out against GMO food and will also provide you with information on specific products so you can boycott the GMO products and not purchase food items containing the chemicals, thus not supporting companies that indorse and defend the use of these products on our food supply. We can all join groups such as Millions against Monstanto that hold mass street petition dates in your state and be a part of the positive action towards labeling laws. When the option becomes available, we can of course all vote locally against the use of these products or the mandatory labeling that should be issued with the use of these toxins in our food. Several states have already put the bill up and some have even already passed requiring labeling laws. Connecticut was the first to pass the law but is not allowed to go into effect until four other northeast states also pass the bill with the same ruling. New York was the obvious choice for Connecticut to petition the committee on the subject due to its large numbers and have already done so hoping that they will help them accomplish this feet when they have come so close. The bill is also being processes in Vermont and Maine currently on a decision and the East coast is hoped to follow suit. Washington is also attempting to pass the bill and is expected to be following soon. With movements making this much progress, now is the time for each of us to decide what we really think on the topic and whether or not we want to choice on what we foods we eat. But what is the right decision to do? How do we know when the corporations and the scientists dont agree what the safe option really is? This is how this has become a problem in the first place. How do we are citizens know what is the right thing to do. We dont want to force food companies to spend extra money on labels if it isnt necessary. But people have become desperate to try new ways of changing the greatly increasing statistics for cancer, diseases, and even infertility to better their own personal health. Some people are placing so much hope in this solution they are saying it is their

religious right to make the decision for themselves. How can we not allow these people that freedom to explore their options at a time like this for our country? Many people are looking to other countries for answers on the topic of GMO foods affecting our health due to how popular a topic this has become all over the world. Ten countries in total require the labeling of any product containing 0.9-1% of GMO content and those countries are; Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, France, Spain, U.K., Sweden, Italy, and Greenland(Denmark). In fact, Russia feels so strongly against GMO foods that they have been warming President Obama about all the many dangers involved and the widespread effects they can possibly have. China and Brazil also require labeling if the GMO content is at least 1% and India has the requirement of labeling of some GE foods but has a lot of exceptions to the laws that were passed there. Bhutan has no labeling laws but they are however the first country to announce going 100% organic. The U.S. along with Canada and Mexico all remain countries without labeling laws against the use of GMO in our food sources.

It should be apparent to all of us that the solution of requiring mandatory labeling is superior to not having it labeled and should therefore be our option to choose rather than to not know what it is in the food we are consuming. Health is a very integrated subject and those who do not wish to eat animal products should also have the option to avoid those products as well. The point to me is that the option to choose is always superior for Americans than not having that option. Everyone is different and some people with specific health statuses may require special diets to be followed. This could be impossible for those people to follow when we dont require such things to be labeled in our country. It will take all of us participating to make this action to be a passing bill to supply Americans with that option. But at the same time this will be something that can affect each of us. To become empowered by this opportunity to be more health conscious and to avoid being one of the many rising statistics today for allergic and autoimmune diseases such as diabetes and asthma or bowel diseases or Multiple Sclerosis. Asthma being considered and epidemic since 1998, when 1 in 5 kids were diagnosed and affected by having the allergic disorder. With such daunting statistics how can parents not want to be as educated as possible for prevention for their families? The verdict may still be out on whether GMO foods are safe for consumption or not as far as the FDA is concerned but it is absolutely a topic where safety first would be the very best policy. If they are unsure if it is safe, it should be mandatory for labeling of those contents so those who want to be cautious in consumption can do so. The problem of GMO food poisoning our health and our families is apparent to anyone who is paying attention. These corporations are cashing in until we come together, wizen up, and refuse to let them go without labeling these toxins any longer. Take a stand now and stop buying these products now and become part of the action towards saving all of our futures. It is our right to know what is in our food and we need to stop these corporations before they make any more money while killing us slowly. It is a scary situation not to know and it should be one that concerns all of us. It affects each of us every

day and the affects are becoming even more severe. Take action now against the greedy corporations and demand to know what is in our food.

Work sited:

GMO Compass. January 25, 2007. Web. July 31, 2013. http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/regulation/labelling/

Barrett, Mike. Occupy. Worldwide GMO labeling laws, 2013. Web. August 1, 2013. http://www.occupy.com/article/worldwide-gmo-labeling-laws

Barrett, Mike. Breakdown of GMO Labeling Laws in Each Country. Natural Society, Nation of Change News, 2013. Web. July 31, 2013. http://www.nationofchange.org/breakdown-gmo-labeling-laws-each-country-1375278946

Haigh, Susan. New York GMO Labeling Bill Could Affect Other States as Well. The Huffington Post. Huff Post Green news. July 30, 2013. Web. July 31, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/30/new-york-gmo-labeling-bill_n_3676132.html

Other states Urged to Pass GMO labeling laws. Wtnh.com News 8. July 29, 2013. July 30, 2013. http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/politics/others-states-urged-to-pass-gmo-labeling-law#.UfxpapKmhFI