Beyond Biotechnology: The Barren Promise of Genetic Engineering

4 We Label Orange Juice, Why Not Genetically Modified Food?

Chapter 4 We label orange Juice, Why not genetically modified food? It is reasonable to expect that a label will tell you something significant about the food you buy. Because of widespread deceptive labeling, Congress began passing laws in the early 1900s to regulate food labels. The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act was first passed in 1938 and has been amended numerous times. In connection with the identity of food it states (in Section 401) that the FDA Secretary should make regulations when “such action will promote honesty and fair dealing with consumers .”On its Web site the FDA declares that it is“one of the nation’s oldest and most respected consumer protection agencies and describes its mission , which includes ensuring that foods are “safe,” “wholesome,” and “sanitary,” and that food products also have “truthful and informative labels” (FDA 2004). The FDA has pages and pages of documents defining what should be on labels and what specific terms mean and don’t mean (Code of Federal Regulations, n.d.). A trip to the food store illustrates the FDA’s influence. All products must clearly show the identity of their ingredients. The label must also identify any substances—such as preservatives or taste enhancers—that have been added to the food. The FDA has a database of more than three thousand food additives that must be named on labels. If there are concerns about the safety of the additive, such as in the case of saccharin, the label must contain a health warning for that substance. The labels also make distinctions that producers might like to hide. Grape juice, for example, is 100 percent juice only if the label states “juice” without any qualifiers, such as “juice beverage” or “juice drink.” We Label Orange Juice, Why Not Genetically Modified Food? • 43 The latter terms indicate that the juice has been diluted or that flavorings have been added. And when the ice cream label states “vanilla flavored ,” you know that it contains an artificial substitute rather than natural vanilla. Food labels also tell you something about the way a food has been processed. If the pasta sauce you buy has been heated (pasteurized) so that it will keep longer, it cannot be labeled“fresh,”since the label“fresh” indicates that a food has not been processed. Similarly, when you buy orange juice, a label tells you whether the juice has been reconstituted by adding water to a concentrate. It states “from concentrate” to distinguish it from fresh-squeezed juice. Another example of processing is radiation treatment, which is used to kill bacteria. Irradiated fruits and vegetables must carry the radura symbol on a label stating “treated with radiation.” The FDA has “found it necessary to inform the consumer that irradiated food has been processed , because irradiation, like other forms of processing, can affect the characteristics of food” (Pauli 1999). Strangely, if an irradiated fruit or vegetable is used in a canned or packaged product, it need not be labeled, since the FDA reasons that consumers know they are buying a processed food. Evidently the FDA does not consider it important in this case to inform us about different kinds of processing. Despite such anomalies, labeling rules show a good deal of common sense on the whole. The purpose of the label is to accurately inform consumers so that they know what they are getting and can make informed choices about the food they buy. The label should embody the intent of open and truthful disclosure. Insofar as this goal is achieved, the FDA is exercising its function as a consumer protection agency. Genetically Modified Food: No Labeling TheFDAhasdeclaredthatgeneticallymodifiedfoodsorfoodingredients need not be labeled. Why not? The FDA holds that genetically modified foods (GM foods) are essentially the same as traditional foods—there is “substantial equivalence,” in the language of food scientists. For example , Monsanto scientists performed detailed nutritional analyses of traditionally bred soybeans and of “Roundup Ready”soybeans, which were genetically modified to be resistant to Monsanto’s“Roundup”herbicide. The scientists compared nutrient content (protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, etc.), even analyzing the amounts of the different kinds of amino 44 • Genetic Engineering and Agriculture acids that make up proteins. They also compared so-called antinutrients (such as lectins), undesirable substances that occur in small amounts in many foods. In all cases they found no substantial differences in composition or amount and therefore concluded that conventional and genetically engineered soybeans...