Should+we+require+labeling+for+genetically+modifed+foods?

=Should we require labeling for genetically modifed foods?= Issue 14. Should We Require Labeling for Genetically Modifi ed Food? 293

YES: Philip L. Bereano, from “The Right to Know What We Eat,” Seattle Times (October 11, 1998) 295

NO: Joseph A. Levitt, from Statement before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, United States Senate (September 26, 2000) 301 The consumer’s interest in knowing where his food comes from does not necessarily have to do with the chemical and nutritional properties of the food. Kosher pastrami, for instance, is identical to the nonkosher product, and dolphin-safe tuna is still tuna. But we have a real and important interest in knowing the processes by which our foods arrived on the table, Bereano argues, and the demand for a label for bioengineered foods is entirely legitimate. Levitt points out that as far as the law is concerned, only the nutritional traits and characteristics of foods are subject to safety assessment. Labeling has been required only where health risks exist, or where there is danger that a product’s marketing claims may mislead the consumer as to the food’s characteristics. Breeding techniques have never been subject to labeling, nor should genetic engineering techniques.