The rise of the organic food industry

The organic food industry is growing rapidly and there is good reason for this.  Many people are concerned about the use of pesticides that are being used on conventionally grown food crops.  There is a realization that heavy pesticide use has depleted soil nutrients and also the food grown in that soil.  In an effort to eat more nutritious food that has not been heavily sprayed, people are turning more and more to organically produced foods.

GMOs or genetically modified organisms

GMOs or genetically modified organisms

It occurred to me that maybe people have heard about GMOs, but maybe they don't really know what they are.  A genetically modified organism is the term that science uses to describe a process of altering the DNA of a plant.  GMOs are ONLY created in a science laboratory. They never occur naturally in nature.

Example: say you have a fish that you want to grow bigger and faster so that it can be marketed earlier, which can help to make more profit for the food company selling it,  because it costs less to produce.

Enter: genetically modified salmon.

Genetically modified salmon has the salmon DNA fused with an eel's DNA, which causes the salmon to develop quickly.

At present, the FDA is ready to allow GMO salmon for sale in food markets without labeling it.  So, if people would prefer NOT to eat this fish (I'm one of those people)---they can NOT be certain that they are not, because it is not labeled.

There have been NO long-term safety studies conducted with GMO foods, so I prefer not to eat them until this testing has been done and my concerns are satisfied.

Do people have the right to know what is in the food they eat?

I am quite concerned with the fact that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been included in many processed foods for at least 10 years now in the USA.  Many people may not be aware of this fact. The companies who use these ingredients in their foods are not required to label those GMO ingredients.  I believe in democracy and certainly when it comes to food---who doesn't eat?  We all have the right to make informed decisions about what we accept into our bodies, however, we can NOT exercise that right if food is not properly labeled.  I want to enjoy food democracy now here in the USA in the same way that so many other countries already enjoy it. How is that?  Because in those countries, unlike the US and Canada, GMO labeling is required by law.