Genetically Modified Organisms: Part 2

Sorry this was delayed but my internet service has been down all weekend

Previously I talked about the need for third party monitors on GMO crops. In this post I’m going to look in a little more depth about what that would mean. For the most part I don’t like groups like Greenpeace and other militant environmentalists, but I must agree with their tactics regarding GMOs.

Europeans have the most stringent guidelines for the labelling of GM foods. Any product with any amount of genetic engineering must be labelled as such. When Europeans discovered a batch of soy travelling to Europe had been intentionally mixed with GM soy they became enraged. Civil disobedience against Monsanto, a major biotechnology company involved in many GMO foods, was rampant across the continent and the UK.

Both Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth were involved in blocking shipments and organizing supermarket boycotts. Because of their actions the soy was not used unknowingly in non-GMO labelled foods.

In the end though it was the private citizen who really got things accomplished. By standing up to big companies and letting their voices be heard private citizens can impact change. Ultimately North Americans must realise that neither corporations nor governments are looking out for the consumer, we are nothing more then potential customers and therefore potential profits. Getting informed and making your opinion heard is the only way to ensure what’s good for you is getting done. No one is going to do it for you.

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