by Nikki Everett

Created on: November 13, 2009   Last Updated: November 14, 2009

Free to Choose

If there is one ideal we hold reverent in America above all others it is our freedoms, however real or imaginary they may be. No one can deny that freedom is the basis for all the wars that have been waged for American liberties.

As Americans, our government decided in its fledgling days that they should protect our food for the health and stability of its people. Because of that protection, one of the most basic of elements to American's existence is the right to safe choices of foods.

Not only do we as citizens have the right to safe food choices, but because of health concerns, we have the right to know what ingredients are in the food to avoid risks to current conditions. Therefore, it should also be a basic right to decide whether the food we ingest have genetically modified ingredients or not. The freedom of choice has been an American standard since the beginning of our country.

The Debate

The argument has somehow stood up in legislature that the American people are not educated enough to decide whether or not GMF (genetically modified foods) are safe based on their limited knowledge of biotechnology. In a day when the World Wide Web offers a virtual plethora of information, this argument is baseless and an insult to each and every citizen of the U.S. of A. who has access to research their decisions on food purchases.

Some may also argue that it is not the responsibility of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to regulate food companies to label foods GM because the uneducated consumer may decide to make a rash decision and not buy their products. This would cost undue amounts of money which might jeopardize the company's ability to employ citizens.

But if you are honest, given the choice of GMF or Non-GMF, what would you buy for your family? If you went to buy a ham at your grocery store and the label said the meat was "GMO and cloned" would you buy it? Most likely not. This is exactly why the giant corporate food companies don't want to disclose the truth to the consumer. Common sense would dictate that they might have something to hide.

Where Does the Buck Stop?

One of the largest socially responsible programs of the United States, the FDA has been regulating food, drugs and cosmetics since 1906 at its inception. In addition to the already long list of responsibilities, bioengineered products that are fed to our food animal and the foods which are sold to our public citizens are also under their jurisdiction.

That's a whole lot of

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