Sunday, November 4, 2007

Biotechnology Quiz Replacement

Should foods produced using biotechnology be labeled for consumers? What are the impacts of labeling (good and bad to society, the environment and the whole food production chain...farmers, distributers, wholesalers, resalers and consumers...)?

It is my personal desire to have access to information about whether the foods I am eating have been produced using biotechnology. I understand that because the term biotechnology means many different things, that it would be an enormous task to label all products with this information. Foremost there would be a large cost associated with this undertaking, due to labeling standards and policies. Currently the practice is that you need not label the food if produced using biotechnology, but some companies do, in order to appeal to those who do not want to eat altered foods. Fortunately I attempt to eat mainly organic foods, and in doing so I know that at least in theory the foods I'm consuming are not altered by biotechnology. If it turns out that more food than not will be produced using biotechnology then it makes sense that those NOT using it should be labeled as to save time and money. Labeling will cause an increase in costs all the way down the line. I personally would like those who implement the technology to be charged, but judging by the way economics work, everyone would feel that cost in the long run.

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