A consumer advocacy group is pushing presidential candidates to support making labeling of genetically modified foods the law - with some success. Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Edwards have agreed to the organization's proposal, as do candidates Bill Richardson and Dennis Kucinich. Top Republican candidates have not taken positions.
"We want to make food safety a defining issue of this election," Anne Dietrich, executive director of Fairfield, IA-based The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods, told The Des Moines Register. "Once this becomes the law of the land, then Monsanto, Syngenta, Kraft and Kellogg's will reformulate their products. Iowa is the best place to start."
James Greenwood, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, told the paper that opponents of genetic engineering "hope by using these scare tactics they can persuade policymakers to alter labeling, and they can use the label to drive people away."
Mr. Greenwood also cautioned candidates against trashing genetics in front of farmers, who profit from genetically engineered crops.
"I wouldn't want to be a presidential candidate going into Iowa ... and extolling the virtues of labeling their corn in a way that might make consumers not want to buy it," he said.
The debate over genetic engineering continues. Opponents claim genetic engineering ruins habitat and kills off certain animals and insects, including the monarch butterfly, and also robs the soil of nutrients. Proponents claim genetically engineered foods are safe and vital to feeding the world, especially amid growing demand for crop-based biofuels.
One less debatable fact is that genetically modified foods are in the supply chain and many Americans don't realize it.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 94 percent of soybeans and 78 percent of corn planted in Iowa are genetically engineered varieties. At the same time, according to a study done last year by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, about 60 percent of Americans don't believe they have eaten genetically engineered food. The same survey showed that 46 percent of respondents were opposed to genetically engineered foods, and 54 percent said they were unlikely to eat foods that had been genetically modified.
Discussion questions: Do you think more labeling should be required for genetically altered foods? Given the amount of genetically engineered crops already in the food chain, is labeling at all practical? What do you think still needs to be done to solve the debate over genetically altered foods and better inform the public of their safety? Do you see food safety becoming a hot button issue for the presidential election?