Knowing what you eat

Shoppers who want to know whether the food they buy contains certain preservatives can simply check the label. Same for figuring out the fat content or number of carbohydrates per serving. But try finding out whether the tomato you buy contains a flounder gene to make it resistant to freezing and, for now anyway, you’re out of luck.

Genetic alteration of food may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you value, but it should not be a hidden thing. A bill before the Legislature, LD 713, makes the simple request that consumers be given the choice of whether to buy genetically altered food. To do that, the bill, which has bipartisan support, would require that genetically engineered foods be labeled as such.

There are several reasons for consumers to avoid genetically engineered foods. Some might want to do it for health reasons: the process of altering foods genetically involves adding animal or plant proteins that could cause allergic reactions. Others might prefer to avoid eating animal genes for religious reasons. Still others might want the choice of not supporting the genetic-engineering industry. Maine has dozens of small but robust organic-food businesses; why deny these farmers and their supporters the chance to buy foods on which their livelihoods are based.

The point is that content and nutrition labels already on foods are there so consumers can make informed decisions about what they eat. If knowing whether a can of tomato juice contains Vitamin C is important, then knowing whether it also contains fish genes ought to warrent a label, too.

Opponents of the legislation have a single good reason to speak against the bill: the fright factor. The very words “genetically engineered” on a label could scare off consumers who simply don’t like its scientific sound. Countering that would require manufacturers to educate the public about their products. That may take some time, but is it really asking so much that producers of these foods explain to the public why otherwise healthy and nutritious foods have been genetically altered and what it might mean to the people who eat them?

LD 713 is a positive step toward an overdue discussion about what the public is being asked to eat. The Legislature should support this measure.