Sunday, September 13, 2009
Biotech Food
It seems to me that there are two issues with Biotech Food: (1) the effects of "artificial gene arranging" and (2) how the companies that produce biotech food inform the consumer as to what is in their products. According to the example essay written by Lisa Turner given in Writing Arguments, some of the effects of consuming biotech food could include "cancer and cardiac problems". Ultimately, the risk of consuming biotech food lies on the consumer, unless of course, the consumer has been lied to. This brings us to the second point. If the company does not fully inform the consumer of the ingredients in its food or it gives false information then the company is at fault, not to mention acting illegally. The Lanham Act was passed in 1946 to prevent companies creating "false advertising". As a consumer I would be utterly disgusted if a company did this, but assuming the company is playing it clean, the choice of whether to eat biotech food is completely up to the individual.
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3 comments:
Although I don't believe that not labeling biotech foods would be false advertising, because there is no proven significant difference, I agree with your reasoning. If the products are labeled truthfully, then the consumer is liable for any risks assumed. You did a good job focusing on the issue and not distracting the reader with superfluously specious claims.
I agree that not labeling biotech foods is false advertising, as it is a form of lying by omission. I really liked how you paired down the argument into sub-arguments, and acknowledged each on their own terms. I agree with your reasoning as to the fact that the decision is on the consumer’s shoulders whether to take that risk or not. I don’t fully agree with your trust in companies, as you would be formally disgusted if they did not label their foods properly. But do we know this? No. The manufacturers are the only ones who know, which makes me doubt their trustworthiness.
You express your position very well in this blog. The incorporation of outside information positively enhanced your argument (the reference to the Lanham Act). I agree with the idea that it is a consumer's choice whether or not to eat Biotech Foods, and found it strong where you recognized that companies can lie about what is "biotech" and what is not.
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