By Nozomi Hayase
When we talk about the price of food, it is important to see food within the context of our larger society. Looking at the true economical reality here in the US, corporations and government say that genetically modified and chemically grown food is the cheap way to feed people who are starving. Is it really true?
Lets look at one aspect: The hidden costs to overall society of the ill health that comes from eating GM food and factory farmed and chemical food. Just think if we as a society took a fraction of the money we dump into treating cancer, diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases that have been directly linked to this corporate corn based GM food and instead put it into local organic pea patches, small family farms and even organic only food stamps. This would likely have a much greater return for the investment. And, it turns out also that GM and chemical crops output per acre is actually less than your typical organic farm. It is a lie that it is more efficient. Corporate agriculture is also extremely oil dependent, which is increasingly unsustainable and also tends to deplete and destroy the fertility of the land, so it has even larger hidden costs. Also, if it is so cheap to produce this unhealthy food, why have we been subsidizing the factory farming industries with billions of Federal tax dollars every year with none of that money going to small organic farms?
Besides, the question at hand with the labeling initiative is simply that when each person is buying something to put into their bodies don't they have a right to know what is in the product? In a 'capitalist, market economy' shouldn't the person at the food market have all the information to choose what they think is the better product? The only possible reason someone wouldn't want GM labeling would be that they don't want people to be able to make their own choice. Shouldn't the 'consumer' (the market) decide what is the better 'product'? Then GM food would have to be defended on its purported merits and a real dialogue about the costs of food could then be debated. But if the majority stays ignorant of what they are eating and the hidden costs, the healthy dialogue will never happen.
George Carlin summed all of this up in one short statement:
"Why does McDonald's spend $8 billion a year on advertisements? "Because unless you're brainwashed, there's no way you're eating that shit."
When we talk about the price of food, it is important to see food within the context of our larger society. Looking at the true economical reality here in the US, corporations and government say that genetically modified and chemically grown food is the cheap way to feed people who are starving. Is it really true? Lets look at one aspect: The hidden costs to overall society of the ill health that comes from eating GM food and factory farmed and chemical food. Just think if we as a society took a fraction of the money we dump into treating cancer, diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases that have been directly linked to this corporate corn based GM food and instead put it into local organic pea patches, small family farms and even organic only food stamps. This would likely have a much greater return for the investment. And, it turns out also that GM and chemical crops output per acre is actually less than your typical organic farm. It is a lie that it is more efficient. Corporate agriculture is also extremely oil dependent, which is increasingly unsustainable and also tends to deplete and destroy the fertility of the land, so it has even larger hidden costs. Also, if it is so cheap to produce this unhealthy food, why have we been subsidizing the factory farming industries with billions of Federal tax dollars every year with none of that money going to small organic farms? Besides, the question at hand with the labeling initiative is simply that when each person is buying something to put into their bodies don't they have a right to know what is in the product? In a 'capitalist, market economy' shouldn't the person at the food market have all the information to choose what they think is the better product? The only possible reason someone wouldn't want GM labeling would be that they don't want people to be able to make their own choice. Shouldn't the 'consumer' (the market) decide what is the better 'product'? Then GM food would have to be defended on its purported merits and a real dialogue about the costs of food could then be debated. But if the majority stays ignorant of what they are eating and the hidden costs, the healthy dialogue will never happen. George Carlin summed all of this up in one short statement: "Why does McDonald's spend $8 billion a year on advertisements? "Because unless you're brainwashed, there's no way you're eating that shit."
