Engr 011 Dr.Vidic
R03
THE ETHICAL DILEMMA OF LABELING GENETICALL MODIFED FOOD
Jordan Klette-Cusher (jjk74@pitt.edu)
BACKGROUND OF GENETICALLY
MODIFIED FOOD
The Food and Drug Administration describes
genetically modified food as the processes of taking
favorable genes from one organism and introducing these
genes into another organism’s DNA. The new genetically
altered organism now has genes that will help it resist
certain pests, diseases, environment, chemicals, or to help
it produce certain nutrients. Genes can be inserted from
plant to plant or from bacteria to plant. The technique of
moving genes from one organism to another is known as
genetic engineering. Scientists first discovered, in the
1940’s, that genes can be transferred from one organism to
another [1]. In the 1990’s the first genetically modified
plant was approved by the FDA and was made available
for American consumers. Today about 60% of all food
bought in the United States is genetically modified. The
United States is one of the principal producers of GM food
and exports GM crops to countries all over the world.
Genetically modified food is an ever-growing industry in
the food market. Most people have most likely already
consumed some sort of genetically modified food because
so many food companies use it in their production.
Everyone should be concerned with genetically modified
food because the odds are you have eating it at some part
in your life.
LABELING: THE MAIN ISSUE
I am Jordan Klette-Cusher and I am one of the chief
engineers at Monsanto incorporated. Monsanto is one of
the largest genetically modified food companies in the
world. My job as chief engineer is to oversee the
production of all genetically modified organisms produced
at Monsanto. In recent years genetically modified as
become a major topic of debate whether they should still
be produced and available for human consumption. To date
no issues of been found by consuming genetically modified
food. However, one issue that is ethically wrong is to not
include labeling on genetically modified food. Currently
there are no laws in place stating that genetically modified
food should be labeled. I believe that a consumer deserves
the right to know if they are buying genetically modified
food. Currently the company that I work for, Monsanto,
does not label their foods as genetically modified. I believe
this goes against one of the engineering’s code of ethics
canon stating that as engineers we should “avoid deceptive
acts [2].” It is deceptive not to label our products as
genetically modified. Even though it is not unlawful to not
label our company’s products, we should still consider
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
10/1/13
labeling all our products as genetically modified. I hope
that one day that Monsanto will label all the foods they
make. In order to achieve this, next week I am planning on
meeting with the vice president of Monsanto and
discussing a plan of action in order to get our products
labeled so we can abide by the Engineering code of ethics.
WHY ENGINEERS SHOULD FOLLOW
THE CODE OF ETHICS
By law engineers must follow a certain code of ethics.
Being an engineering is not a job that should be taken
lightly. If an engineering makes a mistake it could hold
serious consequences. For example if an engineering was
told to build a bridge and he cut corners by buying a
cheaper material then the bridge could collapse and people
could be hurt or killed. Same thing holds true for bioengineers producing genetically modified foods. We are
producing a product that people will ultimately consume.
Anything that is put into your body must be deemed safe to
eat. We must therefore abide by the code of ethics put forth
by the National Biomedical Engineering Society. The
American people are trusting us with their lives, so in
return we must perform to the best of our ability. At all
times we must act professional because as engineers the
people expect us to act responsible and in the best
intentions for society [3]. The code of ethics serves as a
guidebook for us to follow so we can execute our job to the
best of our ability.
HOW ARE FOODS GEETICALLY
MODIFIED
Genetically modified foods are genetically altered
organism that now have genes that will help it resist certain
pests, diseases, environment, chemicals, or to help it
produce certain nutrients. Genes can be inserted from plant
to plant or from bacteria to plant. Genes are a sequence of
DNA that carries information that codes for specific traits
and characteristics. In order to fist begin the process of
genetically modifying an organism a scientist must first
locate the desired gene from another organisms DNA.
Once the gene is located the scientist splices out the desired
gene with a restriction enzyme. The next step is to insert
the gene into the plant they want to modify. To do this
scientist use viruses or a bacteria to transfer the new gene
into the plants old DNA [4]. The viruses and bacteria act as
a carrier for the gens to be transferred form one organism
to another. Once the gene is inserted to the new organism
the cell divides and is able to reproduced and pass on the
new genetic material on.
Jordan Klette-Cusher
foods should still be labeled. This is because as a
bioengineer we must follow the code of ethics that states
we must “Use our knowledge, skills, and abilities to
enhance the safety, health, and welfare of the public [8].”
Currently Monsanto is not labeling and therefore not
looking after the welfare of the public. The American
people deserve to know what they are buying and eating.
Monsanto needs to make changes to the company in order
to maintain the safety for the human consumers.
OVERVIEW OF LABELING IN THE
UNITIED STATES
Currently in the United States GM food does not need to
be labeled any differently than non-genetically modified
food. Consumers have no way of knowing if what they buy
has been altered in anyway. This includes products that
may have a combination of ingredients, some of which
have been genetically modified and some that have not. In
addition some livestock are fed genetically modified food.
Would this livestock then be considered genetically or nongenetically modified? Currently 70% of all processed food
is comprised of at least one genetically modified food [5].
I believe that people do have the right to know what is in
their food. By not labeling people cannot make choices on
if they want to eat genetically modified food or not. They
only way to ensure that you are not eating genetically
modified food is if you buy organic food. Some companies
such as Frito Lay and Gerber baby food are taking a stand
and refusing to use genetically modified food in their
products [6]. As Chief engineering I believe Monsanto
should label all their foods because it is the right thing to
do. We are misleading the public by not letting them know
what they are buying. This goes against the article 3 section
2 of the engineering ethics that says “Engineers shall at all
times strive to serve the public interest. [2]” Monsanto is
violating the code of ethics by choosing not to label there
foods. If Monsanto continues not to label there food then I
may have to quite because I cannot be a part of a company
that is having me break the engineering code of ethics.
WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE
SAYING
A majority of the American people are for the labeling
of genetically modified food. Some states, such as
Connecticut and Maine, have even recently passed state
bills that say all genetically modified organism must be
labeled. California just recently held an election and by 51
percent to 49 percent voted that genetically modified food
does not need to be labeled. Outside of the California
voting booth people chanted “All we want is a simple label
for the food that's on our table. [9]” This shows people just
want to know what they are about to consume. It is not that
people are afraid of genetically modified food, but rather
they just want to be informed of what they are eating. As
you can see from the graph on the next page, most people
in America are for some sort of labeling on genetically
modified food.
WHY WE SHOULD LABEL
Although some people do not care whether they eat
genetically modified food, a portion of America is
concerned with eating genetically modified. Some people
are afraid that genetically modified food could pose a
health risk if you eat it. People should be able to see on the
packaging whether or not what they are buying is
genetically modified or not. In the field there are many
opinions on if genetically modified food should still be
sought after. Most scientist say that because these plants
have new gene additions, such as pesticides against bugs,
that humans should not be eating them. On the other hand
all food is not 100% safe to consume, and genetically
modified food possess a slight risk for a negative reaction,
even when compared to organic foods. In fact genetically
modified food is tested more rigorously then nongenetically modified food is [7]. Also most plants only
have a one gene addition and are thus very safe to eat. Most
people are worried because genetically modified food has
only been around for a relatively short amount of time. So
far there are no short term side effects but genetically
modified food have not been around long enough to
determine if there are long term effects of eating it. Despite
the fact that these foods show no negative effects, these
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Jordan Klette-Cusher
FIGURE 1 [6]
food prices to climb [12]. According to research done by
Northbridge Environmental Management Consultants the
annual food bill for a family could increase as much as 400
dollars [9]. Companies are also concerned that by
increasing labeling it could cause a scare, and people would
then be turned off from genetically modified food. This
would then cause a stigma towards the technology of
genetically modified that is used to help developing
countries. Some countries rely on genetically modified
food in order to keep up with nutrition. Some companies
are hesitant to label their products because they fear it
could cause sales to go down and for people to reject all
genetically modified food.
SOLUTION TO LABELING
In my meeting next week with the vice president of
Monsanto I plan on presenting my plan to get all Monsanto
foods labeled. I will open by telling him how the way he is
running his company is violating the engineer code of
ethics. On the main grounds that he is deceiving the public
by choosing not to label our products and therefore people
do not know what they are eating. I will propose that we
label some of our products and put them in the super
market. We will see if our sales drop because we label our
ingredients genetically modified. If our sales were to drop
then we would have to try to reach out to the American
consumers and inform them on how genetically modified
food is just as safe as non-genetically modified food.
Assuming that the labeling does not affect sales we will
then label all our foods in our product line. I am hoping that
he will understand that by labeling our products he will see
that we are now abiding by the engineering code of ethics.
Since Monsanto is one if the biggest genetically modified
food companies, I am hoping that if we make the switch to
labeling then other companies will follow in our footsteps.
Our switch could start the trend that makes labeling
standard in the whole food industry.
American support for the labeling of genetically modified
food has been steadily rising since the 1990’s.
By not labeling genetically modified food, we are keeping
a secret from the American public. By not telling the
American people what is in their food we are violating
another engineering code of ethic that states “engineers
shall issue public statements in an objective and truthful
manner. [8]” By not labeling, we as engineers are bending
the truth from the American public. This is not a truthful
manner if we are withholding information from everyone.
Since Monsanto does not label their products as genetically
modified the company is corrupt and I as an engineering is
obligated to bring it up to my boss and try to get all of our
genetically modified food labeled [10].
WHY MONSANTO WANTS TO KEPP
FOOD UNLABELED
Monsanto and other large companies have several
reason in why they choose not to label their products as
genetically modified. The companies think that by labeling
the products genetically modified it would scare people
away from buying them [11]. A lot of companies do not see
the need to label when genetically modified is tested more
rigorously than non-genetically modified food. By labeling
their products people may stay away from them and thus
the company would lose money. Also it could cause an
increase in food prices because more energy and resources
would need to be put into growing non-genetically
modified food. Since genetically modified food often
requires less water and nutrients it is then cheaper to buy.
Labeling could cause a domino effect that would cause all
REFERENCES
[1] (2013) “Questions & Answers on Food from
Genetically Engineered Plants”, US Food and Drug
Administration,
(Online
Article).
http://www.fda.gov/food/foodscienceresearch/biotechnolo
gy/ucm346030.htm 9/22/13<br>
[2] (2013) “NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers” NSPE
(Online
Article).
http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html<br>
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Jordan Klette-Cusher
[3] J. Hoven. G. Lokhorst. I. Poel. (2012) “Engineering
and the Problem of Moral Overload” Academic Search
Premier
(Online
Article)
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&sid=ccd253
f6-85ea-4644-99101802b4371d1c%40sessionmgr110&hid=124&bdata=JnN
pdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=71345
642 <br>
pdGU9cG92LWxpdmU%3d#db=pwh&AN=12441283<B
r>
[12] C. Robinson. N. Holland. D. Leloup. H. Muilerman.
(2011) “Conflicts of interest at the European Food Safety
Authority erode public confidence.” Academic Search
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http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=fae8dc335662-4f19-82bae38453c47d80%40sessionmgr114&vid=1&hid=124&bda
ta=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN
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[4] A.Young. (2012).
“GMO’s: Friend or Foe?”
Natural
Health.
(online
article)
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=250bc8aab79d-49e1-973c397fe5ed1425%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=119&bdat
a=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=
75454734<br>
<h4
align=“center”>ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
S</h4><br>
[5] A. Wohlers. (2013). “Labeling of Genetically modified
food.” Academic Search Premier. (Online Essay)
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&sid=06fd7b
47<bR>
<p>In order to write this paper I would first like to thank
the librarians who helped me find the sources that I needed
to do research on this topic. Secondly this paper could not
have been accomplished had my roommate, Chris
DiPasquale, not have been respectful to me while I was
working in the room. He kept the dorm very quiet and I was
able to focus. Lastly I would to give a big thank you to my
parents who always told me to budget my time well. I wrote
to paper in sections over a time period, instead of doing it
the night before. This paper could not as be as successful
as it is had it not been for these people. Thank you. </p>
[6] A. Wohlers (2013) “Labeling of Genetically Modified
Food.” Politics & the Life Sciences (Essay)
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=2&sid=ccd253
f6-85ea-4644-99101802b4371d1c%40sessionmgr110&hid=124&bdata=JnN
pdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=90322
539<br>
[7] (2013) “Are Biotech Foods Safe to Eat?” WebMD.
(online
article)
http://www.webmd.com/foodrecipes/features/are-biotech-foods-safe-toeat?page=3<Br>
[8] (2013) “Biomedical Engineering Society Code of
Ethics”
BMES
(Online
Article)
http://bmes.org/files/2004%20Approved%20%20Code%2
0of%20Ethics(2).pdf<br>
[9] (2013) “Labels for GMO Foods Are a Bad Idea”
Scientific
American
(Online
Article)
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=labelsfor-gmo-foods-are-a-bad-idea&page=2 <Br>
[10] L. Chu (2012) “Genetically Modified Food Labeling
Through the Lens of Public Health” University of
California,
San
Francisco
(Online
Article).
http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2012/11/13058/geneticallymodified-food-labeling-through-lens-public-health’<Br>
[11] T. Anderson (2013). “Counterpoint: GMO foods are
unsafe.” Points of View Reference Center. (Online Article).
http://web.ebscohost.com/pov/detail?vid=3&sid=6ffc6c83
-06e8-4b9b-85e085a2d6abc159%40sessionmgr112&hid=123&bdata=JnN
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