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JA6. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Statement

Please read the reading materials from Chapter 4 of the Corporate Social Responsibility textbook. Based on what you have learned in this unit, answer the following questions:

  • What impact will labeling of GM food products have on producers and developers of GMO foods?
  • What impact will labeling of GM food products have on research about GMOs?
  • What impact will labeling GM food have on consumers?

Answer

Generally Modified Organisms (GMOs) are organisms (animals, plants, bacteria, etc) that have their genetic material altered artificially using gene engineering; a similar process has been happening for thousands of years called natural selection; since Mandel, artificial selection became possible where we speed up the process of natural selection by selecting the best traits and breeding them. It is important to note that no one has problems with artificial or natural selection, but GMOs usually have a bad reputation (Kurzgesagt, 2017).

There are no known health risks that can be tracked back to GMOs, otherwise, such products would not be allowed to be sold; plus, with everyone consuming it, we did not see any abnormal spikes in health issues. On the environment, GMOs effect is debatable, on one hand generating corps that is resistant to pests reduces the need to use pesticides which may be a good thing, but on the other hand, it may lead to the extinction of some species of pests which mat distress the ecosystem (Jimenez, 2016).

Labeling GM food products means that manufacturers are obligated to label their products as containing GMOs; at the moment, labeling is optional in the US, that is, manufacturers can choose to label their products as containing GMOs or not. Other countries like the European Union, Japan, and Australia have mandatory labeling laws (Jimenez, 2016).

The impact of labeling GM food products on producers and developers of GMO foods is huge; it may lead to a decrease in sales, as consumers may be less likely to buy products that are labeled as containing GMOs. This also requires manufacturers to find a way to detect GMOs and decide if a product contains GMOs or not. There will be also the need to contain the spread of GMOs to non-GMOs, which means, GMO corpus can not be planted in the open field, but in a controlled environment with a roof to stop the spread with the wind. All of this may lead to the reduction of planting GMOs, putting manufacturers and developers at a disadvantage (Jimenez, 2016).

The impact will labeling of GM food products has on research about GMOs may be positive; as the losing companies will try to back up their claims and change the public opinion about GMOs, and the best way to do this is to fund more research. This may also trigger the seek for safer and more efficient ways to produce good corps (Jimenez, 2016).

The impact of labeling GM food products on consumers is also debatable, as studies showed that the public has little knowledge about the topic; thus, labeling may lead to consumers avoiding GMOs, which may force companies to go back to the old ways that produce less food and in turn, may increase food prices. On the other hand, labeling may lead to more transparency and trust between the public and the companies which may trigger consumers to do research and discover that GMOs are not as bad as they thought (Jimenez, 2016).

To conclude, labeling has a debatable impact on consumers and research, but it has definitely a negative impact on producers and developers of GMOs; thus, all attempts to pass mandatory labeling laws in the US have failed. The increasing world population requires more food, and GMOs promise to deliver that, but public opinion is not all positive yet, and the area still needs more research to be fully understood.

References

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