An Industry on the Brink: Consumers Need to Wake Up and Smell the Gene

An Industry on the Brink Consumers hire to Wake Up and Smell the Genetic onlyy Modified CoffeeA recent upsurge of opposition to the production of genetically modified grazes has farmers all over America asking themselves one question To modify or not to modify? Genetically modified (GM) crops allow farmers to use less pesticides while still achieving the same yields. American farmers adopt planted GM crops since 1995 and, at least for the first few years, had no problems selling these products to the public. Recently, however, in that location has been a movement by several activist groups, some of which have the support of accredited scientists, to make a distinction on market store shelves between GM foods and those that were produced normally. This process, called labeling, strikes fear in the hearts of more or less farmers who are afraid that an uninformed American public will manoeuvre clear of the GM crops just to be on the safe side. The circumstance of the matt er is that Americans have been eating these altered crops since 1995 and no one has been harmed. This wide-eyed albeit somehow debatable fact did not stop one relate group from taking out several full-page ads in the naked as a jaybird York Times warning of the dangers of these newfangled foods (Isserman, 2001). This, like many technological advances has met a good deal resistance, but it will ultimately be accepted and change the reflexion of agriculture. The decision of whether to produce GM crops is based more on governance than on practice. Farmers are not interested in deciding which fibre of crop is better for consumers, better for the environment, or better for the world, but quite are only concerned with which type of crop consumers are instinctive to buy. Farmers were once faced with th... ... Promoting GM. 13 Nov. 2002. Institute of Science and Society. 13 Dec. 2002. Kwon, Y.W. and Kim, D. (2000). Herbicide-resistant genetically-modified crop its risks with an emphasis on gene flow. Weed Biology and Management 1, 42-52.Watkinson, A.R. et al. (2000). Predictions of biodiversity solution to genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops. Science 289, 1554-1557.Isserman, A.M. et al. (2001). Genetically modified food. American behavioural Scientist 44, 8.Sheehy, H. et al. (1998). Consumer and biotechnology A synopsis of survey and focus group research. journal of Consumer Policy 21, 359-386.Verfaillie, Hendrick. Our Commitments - Environmental & Social Responsibility Monsanto Pledge. 10 Dec. 2002. Monsanto.