According to ABC News, 90 percent of Americans want to know whether or not the food they are eating has been genetically modified. While there is no conclusive data showing that GMOs are bad for human health, health is not the entirety of the issue. Full disclosure is the issue, and it's this writer's opinion that knowledge is power. Consumers should be fully informed about what they're putting into their mouths, but so far, Monsanto is winning the battle against full disclosure.
But public opinion and outcry aren't going to change just because Monsanto was, essentially, granted immunity from prosecution for any possible consequences their genetic horseplay causes. Monsanto is dead set on controlling the food supply for the entire world, it seems, even though the data doesn't back up their claims that GMOs increase productivity. According to the Rodale Institute, which conducted a 30 year study of organic and conventional farming methods, GMOs do not do what Monsanto wants us to think they do:
In a 30-year study that pits organic farming against conventional farming (including genetically modified (GM) farming starting in 2008), organic practices outperformed conventional practices leading to higher yields and higher net incomes for farmers.
The above is quoted from this article on KSL. So, that being the case, why, OH WHY, are we still having this debate? Oh, that's right, because money talks. Don't believe me? Why don't you just go ahead and find out who is heading up the FDA these days. You don't really have to, though, because I looked it up for you. His name is Michael Taylor, and he was appointed to the position by President Obama in January 2010. Guess what his employment history looks like? He was a lawyer, then a lobbyist, for (you guessed it) Monsanto. Shocked? Yeah, me neither.
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