Food Labeling final report

Food Labeling
The College at Brockport
Department of Communication
Orange regions require Genetically Modified Food lables.
Laura Bliss, Zach Clicquennoi, Erin Conley, Laura Haley, & Amber
Vaccaro
December 18, 2015

Table of Contents:
Executive Summary-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
Introduction------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter I: 21st Century Agriculture- Genetically Modified Organisms----------------------------------
Chapter II: A Look Across the Atlantic----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter III: The Consequences of Food Labels-------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter IV: Government Involvement-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Conclusion and Recommendations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Accurate food labeling is critical for the
wellbeing of our society. Without well-
defined labels there is elevated potential for
negative outcomes to occur to those who use
food labels, which happens to be our entire
population. Millions have suffered due to the
uncertainty that comes along with labels on
the foods we regularly consume. One of the
authors fathers suffered from a heart attack in
March of 2014that nearly took his life.
Inaccurate food labeling was a leading factor
in this event because for years they had
thought they were choosing some of the
healthiest options, yet realistically there was
more to the foods they were consuming than
they thought. Millions of Americans face
these sort of dilemmas that could be more
easily prevented if our society had a food
system that was honest and more
understandable. The concerns related to
inaccurate food labeling that will be further
analyzed include: health risks that may occur
from not having proper knowledge on what
you’re consuming, increased consumer
requirement for GMO (genetically modified
organisms) labeling, government
involvement pertaining to accurate food
labeling and GMO labeling, further analysis
on what GMO’s are and how they came
about, and the American pace of life in
accordance to food.
Health concerns related to inaccurate food
labeling includes: obesity, increased allergic
reactions and production of new allergens,
antibiotic resistance, unknown overeating,
increased risk of heart and lung disease as
well as chronic health problems, including
type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and forms of
canceri (Center For). Lookingfurther into the
reasoning behind so many health concerns
leads society right back to the main problem,
inaccurate food labeling. Major food
corporations have legal wiggle room where
they are able to use additives in the food they
process which don’t need labeling. Food
manufacturers have the ability to round to
zero for any ingredient that equates to less
than .5grams in a product, which in turn
leaves many ingredients unlabeled. People
who are counting their calories or trying to
stay away from trans fat, for instance, are
unable to do so because of these labeling
regulations. Consequences to inaccurate food
labeling are endless and continue to be
recognized.
Consumers are now more than ever highly
adamant about knowing exactly what is in
the food they are eating. The Safe and
Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015was
passed by the U.S. House of Representatives
to get genetically modified organisms
labeled. This act requires that food labels
meet a required standard before being put on
the shelves, making it necessary to label
more accurate serving size portions, show
additives that have been incorporated
throughout the process of food production
and demanding the labeling of any
genetically modified organisms that are in
the food itself. The voice behind these bills
supporting the implementation includes 90%
of the American population, yet we have
been in the dark about what our food contains
for so long even with the outstanding amount
of support behind this. Places such as Japan,
Australia, and China have established laws
regarding the labeling of GMOs, yet we are
still working on getting to this point. The
Dark Act, Deny Americans the Right-to-
Know Act, preempts states from requiring
labeling of GMO food and prohibiting bogus
“natural” claims, making it not legal to
clearly state what is in our food. There are
also trigger clauses on many bills that are
passed state to state making it required to
have multiple states implementation of the
same bill before action is required. There are
many governmental loop holes that hold us
as Americans back from being able to have
understable transparency in our food system.
Genetically modifies organisms have been
around for no more than 20 years, yet are in
nearly every food we consume without even
knowing. With the recent uproar on civilian
hope and action towards having GMO
labeling be required, there has been more
found most commonly in processed food
ingredients such as amino acids, natural and
artificial flavorings as well as high fructose
corn syrup that are included in most foods
that we as consumers eat. The way that
genetically modified organisms are made

affects the way that our immune system
processes them, multiple studies have been
done on the negative consequences that
GMOs have on our bodies. New allergens
can be formed at a young age, increased
toxicity in foods consumed, as well as
antibiotic resistance your body can form due
to exposure of these modified organisms.
Research is and will be conducted for many
years to come on the effects of GMO’s,
proving that they need to be accurately
labeled on foods we consume.
The American lifestyle is very fast paced and
hectic compared to many other cultures. This
comes into play in all areas of our lives. Our
eating habits, though, fall into an area where
there is significant impact. As a society we
pay little attention to the food we consume
and the manner in which we consume it. In
contrast, many European nations slow down,
taking time to indulge in their food and drink,
gathering with friends and family to do so. It
may seem silly to think the speed at which
we go through life or the amount of time we
spend eating is so consequential. However,
there are numerous benefits that can be
gained from slowing down which will be
explained in further detail in chapters to
come. We have the power to improve our
lives dramatically and Europe can serve as a
template. Looking to European countries, we
can consider positive lifestyle changes our
nation can adopt; these changes can improve
our quality of life. If adopted as national
traditions, they will improve our children's
quality of life as well.

Introduction:
To state that accurate food labeling is a
concern regarding the entire American
population would be an understatement.
Everybody eats, therefore everybody is
involved in one way or another. We in
America now have double the obesity rate
compared to statistics in the 1970’s, we
consume 156 pounds of sugar every year
and on average teenagers get 30% of their
daily calories from vending machine items
and soda (source). As a country we need to
focus on the wellbeing of our people so we
have the highest possible outcome for
success. Food is a part of our everyday lives,
becoming knowledgeable on some of the
regulations regarding food labeling can help
our society better itself in more ways than
one. It is mandated by the Food and Drug
Administration that all foods that are
packaged and prepared need a nutrition label
on them, this applies to all foods made and
sold in the United States along with foods
that are sold in foreign countries but
prepared in the U.S. The only exception to
this rule is what the FDA considers “raw
materials” which includes fruits, vegetables,
and fish. These items would have to be
completely by themselves and have no
added ingredients to be considered raw,
even though many fish farms use feed that
have genetically modified organisms within
them (SOURCE). Because all foods need to
be labeled, there is an elevated need for
every label to be as accurate as possible.
According to Time magazine, 26% of
people always check their food labels, 37%
of people check certain parts of the label and
an estimated 72% of people try to
understand the food label but fail to do so.
Fewer people pay attention to the
ingredients in the food they are consuming
and focus rather on portions of certain
ingredients within, such as sugars, trans fat
and protein. With multiple people only using
the food label to check amounts of what is in
their soon to be consumed food, it is crucial
that all aspects of a nutrition label are
accurate. Many Americans go on diets,
trying to watch their weight and control the
amount of food they intake. Without
accurate food labeling people are fooled as
to what they are consuming and do not have
the freedom to fully understand the
nutritional value of the food they are eating.
It seems unfair to be an American with a
multitude of freedoms to exercise yet we are
still not able to have a transparent food
system that allows accurate information
regarding food labels.
Many large food corporations, such as
Kellogg's, Pepsi, General Mills, Coca-Cola,
are taking a stance against accurate food
labeling. Big businesses like these pour
money into pushing back deadlines
regarding more transparent food systems so
they can continue to label with the loose
requirements and loop-holes that they have
now. Putting money towards pushing back
against a much needed social improvement
seems so unnecessary when over a billion
people go hungry every year and that money
could be used towards helping a cause as
such. Thirty seven states are currently
fighting for mandatory GMO labeling,
hoping to be added to the list of the already
sixty four countries that have this labeling
requirement. This is a worldwide problem
and seeing that many others have
successfully taken a stance and received
more accurate food labeling gives us hope
that we can too.
The framework for the following pages will
be provided by Walter Lippmann, who

conveyed the idea of pseudo environments
in his 1949 publication of, “Public Opinion”.
The nature of the idea is that each of us look
out at the world from inside the pseudo
environment we inhabit. There exist as
many pseudo environments in the world as
there do people because each of us has a
unique view of the world, shaped by the
people with whom we interact and the
events that affect us. Despite the billions of
pseudo environments in the world, there
exists only one real world. All of the actions
of individuals who think and feel in pseudo
environments culminate in the real world.
When there lacks a shared ground of fact
and information that can be defined as
nothing but true, the real world slowly
becomes fictitious.
When each of us is going into grocery stores
and purchasing food, we are all acting in the
real world. This world is slowly becoming
fictitious though, as we purchase foods
because we perceive them to be something
they are not. For example, many of us know
whole wheat bread is healthy. However, few
of us know these things to be true as a result
of an intellectual conversation with a
nutritionist or other scientist with a thorough
understanding of food. Few of us have read
scholarly articles that have been reviewed by
other scientists in the field. Rather, we know
these things to be true because they’re part
of our pseudo environment. Our friend may
have told us or, more likely still, we saw an
ad on TV or in a magazine telling us whole
wheat is the way to go! But-- have you ever
questioned the validity of these statements?
Have you ever looked into the labeling
regulations surrounding these claims?
It is vital to continually question and gather
information so as to become a more
intellectual consumer. If not, there is high
risk of falling into marketing traps. To
illustrate, let’s look at the whole wheat bread
example from above. Any carbohydrate that
has had any amount of wheat added to it can
be labeled as a wheat productii (Forbes).
One hundred percent whole wheat products
are healthier than only partial wheat
products because 100% whole wheat must
contain all three parts of a grain: the bran,
germ, and endospermiii (Mayoclinic). When
all these parts are included, many nutrients
and fiber is provided that are often stripped
when that 100% label isn’t included. Despite
labels saying things such as ‘contains whole
wheat!’ there can be enriched flour included
that give consumers a sugar spike but no
nutritional valueiv.
As a nation, if we were to become more
aware of how food information is presented
to us, we would begin to tip the scales back
to a more real world, as opposed to the
fictitious one it is becoming. By increasing
the accuracy of our personal pseudo
environments, our actions will provide
health benefits to us and those we’re
responsible for (ie: our children).

Chapter I: 21st Century Agriculture- Genetically Modified Organisms
Over the past two decades, there has been a
push in science and technology to modify
foods with the goal of improving human life.
This technology has led to the creation of
GMO’s. GMO’s are defined as “organisms
whose genetic make-ups have been changed
by mutating, inserting, or deleting genes, by
using genetic engineering techniques or
through biotechnologyv (GMO’s and
Family).” Over the years, these genetically
altered foods have received a large amount
of attention from the media as well as the
general public. The reason for this is
because many people are unaware what’s in
the GM products that make the foods a
better product and also if they are even safe
to consume. The battle to get GM foods
labeled has become a popular concern to the
public; large biotech companies are
spending large sums of money to protect
themselves from mandatory GMO labeling.
According to Non GMO Project, “GMO’s
are found in about 80% of food products in
North Americavi (GMO’s and Family).”
The most common of these foods are soy,
canola, corn and sugar. GMO’s are also
hidden in commonly processed food
ingredients such as amino acids, natural and
artificial flavorings as well as high fructose
corn syrup. This is an important statistic to
show because many people have no a clue as
to what a GMO is. People are unaware of
what they are consuming and this is a major
problem in today’s society because people
are uneducated and there isn’t as high of a
demand for people to want to know, as there
should be.
It’s very important to educate people on
GMO’s and what they really are. According
to Genetic Literacy Project some people are
convinced GM foods have been shown to
cause new allergens especially in
adolescents from practices and additives in
GM productsvii (Lim, Xiao). The problem
with this theory is that it has yet to be 100%
proven. In general, it is difficult to
understand why people develop food
allergies. A food allergy reaction occurs
when the body’s immune system overreacts
to a food or substance and feels the need to
defend itselfviii (Food Allergy). Adolescents
experience more of a chance of developing
food allergies because of their weak immune
systems and the types of substances they’re
introduced to before or when they are born.
The process of modifying GMO’s works in
a way similar to allergens where they both
have potential threats to the immune system.
The process to modify foods occurs with the
“splicing of genes from on organisms DNA
and inserting or bonding it to another”ix
(The GE) The problem with this is that it is
possible for a cross contamination of DNA
to occur where someone could experience an
allergic reaction based off of the transferred
DNA from other organisms. On top of this,
biotech companies then refuse to offer a
labeling for what these foods are crossed
with when they are genetically engineered.
This leads to many issues people face with
the want for mandatory labeling.
Some of the biggest issues with getting
GMO products to be labeled are the biotech
companies who create them. In 2011, the
FDA gave permission to biotech companies
to be able to perform their own
environmental impact studies on their own
productsx (GMO and FDA). This gave
biotech companies a large amount of power
because they are now allowed to hide what
they want and say what they please about
the research they conduct.
Monsanto is one of the leading biotech
companies in the world that create GM

products and sell them off to farmers.
Monsanto has been allowed to patent their
GMO seeds. These seeds are seen as a great
option for farmers to use because they are
engineered to withstand climate change and
are able to resist herbicides as well as insect
abuse. These seeds greatly improve a
farmer’s ability to cultivate crops and
therefore Monsanto then forms contracts
with thousands of farmers annually to
exchange the seeds. These seeds allow
farmer to grow crops efficiently and make
good money off of them. However,
Monsanto is very strict with their contracts
and products. After a growing season,
farmers aren’t allowed to reuse seeds, as
they must purchase new ones. This has led
to many lawsuits over the years.
Another issue with these seeds is that it can
hurt organic farmers who want nothing to do
with GMO products. Organic farmers
constantly face problems with contamination
of GMO seeds from nearby GMO farms. If
this happens, biotech companies are allowed
to sue these farmers for not being under
contract with permission to use their
products even if the farmer had no interest in
doing so to begin with.
A former biotech research scientist by the
name of Thierry Vrain worked for
Agriculture Canada. His job was to speak to
public groups and assure them that
genetically modified foods were safe.
However, over time he started to see the
lack of positive and well-balanced research
conducted by biotech labs and has since
developed new viewpoints of GM foods. He
now advocates against GMO’s as well as the
companies he previously worked for.
In one article Vrain writes,
“There are no long-term feeding studies
performed in these countries [US and
Canada] to demonstrate the claims that
engineered corn and soya are safe. All we
have are scientific studies out of Europe and
Russia, showing that rats fed engineered
food die prematurely.
These studies show that proteins produced
by engineered plants are different than what
they should be. Inserting a gene in a genome
using this technology can and does result in
damaged proteins. The scientific literature is
full of studies showing that engineered corn
and soya contain toxic or allergenic proteins.
... I refute the claims of the biotechnology
companies that their engineered crops yield
more, that they require less pesticide
applications, that they have no impact on the
environment and of course that they are safe
to eat"xi (Mercola, Joseph).
Vrain expanded on his research and
expressed his concern on GMO’s and the
environment. According to the article not
only are GM farms contaminating non-GM
farms, but also once non-GM foods are
contaminated they can’t be recalled and it’s
very difficult for organic farmers to rid their
farms of GM contaminants.
According to the American Academy of
Environmental Medicine, in 2009 called for
a mandatory study on the long term effects
of GMO’s. They released the following
statement from what they found was
happening to research they themselves were
conducting,
“Several animal studies indicate serious
health risks associated with GM food,
including infertility, immune problems,
accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and
changes in major organs and the
gastrointestinal system.... There is more than
a casual association between GM foods and
adverse health effects. There is causation
..."xii (Mercola, Joseph)
According to the article Pesticide
Controversies by Jennifer Weeks, in 2015
the International Agency for Research on
Cancer (IARC) stated that glyphosate, which
is a main ingredient in the herbicides

Monsanto develops such as Roundup as well
as other weed killers “could cause cancer.
(Weeks, Jennifer)” Monsanto strongly
disagreed with the IARC’s claims but since
then the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) as well as the U.S. department of
Agriculture (USDA) is starting to look more
into glyphosate and the potential
carcinogens it may contain. If some of
Monsanto’s products face a stronger
questioning then this could be a great move
for the mandating of more GMO studies to
prove whether or not they’re safe.
The demand for organic foods has increased
significantly over the past few years.
According to a census conducted by the
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics
service, between 2008 and 2012 there has
been a 14% increase in the amount of
certified and recognized organic farms in the
United States. However, out of the 2.1
million farms in the United States, organic
farms only represent 0.6% of them at
12,771xiii (Sooby, Jane). Why has the push
for more organic farms come about? This is
mainly because Americans are paying more
attention to what they consume than ever
before.
One of the biggest issues for consumers has
been the fight to get GM foods labeled. Over
the years biotech companies have been able
to pour millions of dollars into protecting
their power over their products and the
research they are responsible for.
In fall of 2015, the U.S. House of
Representative passed the Safe and Accurate
Food Labeling Act of 2015. This act was a
big step forward in the labeling process
especially for the GMO labeling debate.
According to the bill that was passed,
section 101 states: “The FDA may require a
GMO food to have a label that informs
consumers of a material difference between
the GMO food and a comparable food if the
disclosure is necessary to protect public
health and safety or to prevent the label from
being false or misleading. The use of a
GMO does not, by itself, constitute a
material difference”xiv (H.R.1599)
This bill not only holds the FDA in check
but also the USDA as well as the
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).
“(Sec. 201) For a food to be sold as a
product produced without genetic
engineering (non-GMO), the food must be
subject to supply chain process controls that
keep the product separated from GMOs and
must be produced and handled in
compliance with a non-genetically
engineered food plan, which is a description
of procedures to ensure compliance,
monitoring records, and corrective actions in
the event of a deviation from the plan.
For food derived from livestock to be sold as
non-GMO, the product, livestock, feed, and
products used in processing the feed must be
produced without GMOs.
A food’s label or advertising cannot suggest
that non-GMO foods are safer or of higher
quality than GMO foods.
For a food to be sold as a GMO food, it must
be produced and handled in compliance with
a genetically engineered food plan. A GMO
food’s label or advertising cannot suggest
that it is safer or of higher quality solely
because it is GMO.
(Sec. 302) The FDA must regulate the term
“natural” on food labeling.”
-(H.R.1599)
This bill was long overdue to get passed and
the reason it is so important is because the
government is finally realizing that there is a
major concern for people’s health and that
people care about what’s in their food. Vrain
weighs in a very good point when arguing
what GM foods can do to human health as
he states, "Nobody gets ill from smoking a
pack of cigarettes either. But it sure adds up,
and we did not know that in the 1950’s

before we started our wave of epidemics of
cancer. Except this time it is not about a bit
of smoke, it's the whole food system that is
of concern”xv (Mercola, Joseph).
Benjamin Franklin once said, “It’s the first
responsibility of every citizen to question
authority.” In this case, the power lies within
the Government as well as the million dollar
biotech industries that control over 80% of
the foods people consume. There are many
campaigns and committees that continue the
fight in mandating GMO labeling and it
should be in the public’s best interest to stay
educated with what they’re consuming and
what they can do to change it.

Chapter II: A Look Across the Atlantic
In America we have many idioms concerning
time, or a lack thereof. We’re crunched for
time, under the gun, down to the last second.
These expressions frequently strewn
throughout conversation indicate an
overarching theme in the United States. That
theme is the large amount of pressure felt at
work, as highlighted in one Harvard Business
Review article. The article, Creativity Under
the Gun, presents a study in which
researchers explored, “how people
experienced time pressure day to day as they
worked on projects that required high levels
of inventiveness”. After analyzing 9,000
journal entries, the results found were steeply
correlated to popular press maxims of
America being a nation of ‘the quick, or the
dead tired.” Polls stretching back fifteen and
even twenty years ago show similar attitudes.
One finding from 1995indicated “more than
half of Americans wanted more time, even if
it meant earning less money”. A related
survey from 1996found 75% of workers
earning over $100,000/yearhadgreater
difficulty managing their time than their
money. Feeling continuously pressed for
time is a way of life for many Americans but
do we ever pause to question if this is the
only way of life, or indeed, the best way of
life?
Our everyday perceptions of time can be
viewed in different lights; Paul Maidment
speaks on the topic from an analytical
standpoint, remarking, “Time is a curious
good economically… Were it a bank
account, time would pay no interest, close
itself out each night, carry over no balances,
and allow no overdrafts”xvi (Maidment, Paul).
Whether we acknowledge it or not,
Americans have come to fixate on these
concepts. Over the past century, we’ve
become very focused on time’s inability to
transfer from one day to the next as well as
our inability to conjure more if we run out.
As a result, we’ve learned to pack our days
with all that we can.
Hackett’s Hardware store, owned by one of
the author’s grandfathers and great uncle,
illustrates the time shift America has
experienced over the past 65 years. In 1950,
their store closed at 5pm each weekday, 4pm
on Saturdays, and never opened on Sunday.
When he retired in 1995the store saw
weekday & Saturday closings at 9pm and
4pm on Sundays. Today, in contrast, neon
signs light up the night in cities big and small
with their 24 hour services. Walmart, CVS,
and Denny’s are three such examples.
Supermarkets, pharmacies, and fast food
chains ensure that American citizens can
choose to run around like chickens with our
heads cut off.
This is not human nature but rather an
American custom. At times when Europeans
encounter Americans they are baffled by our
‘no time to lose’ attitude. To them, time isn’t
something that can be gained or lost. It is
simply a constant in the worldxvii (renegade
Frederick). Would you find it odd to learn
most Europeans carry around thermometers
in their pockets to be ever-mindful of the
temperature? Probably. This is, of course, not
true, but the absurdity you presumably felt
about such a practice is quite similar to how
they feel about our preoccupation with time.
One blogger explained,
When I asked last summer at a casual
plaza café in Croatia if I could get an
impulsive espresso to go, not wanting
to hold up my fellow travelers, the
barista made a studied appraisal of
me and asked, “Madame, are you
really in so much of a hurry?” I tried
to explain about delaying my
companions, and he simply said,
“They will wait”. They would, in
Croatia. They would sit down
together, and chat, and not be in such
a rush.xviii

America as a whole is highly immersed in its
own customs. This is understandable from a
geological perspective as we are bordered by
only two other countries and separated from
the rest by entire oceans. The result of this,
however, is a nation unlearned in the daily
structure many other countries choose to
follow.
A characteristic inherent to the US but absent
from Europe is the adherence to a ‘round the
clock’ lifestyle. Furthermore, we’ve acquired
a ‘running against the clock’ mindset. No
longer do we need tables to complete the
daily task of eating; we can order food
through our car windows, eating off our laps
as we drive away, thanks to fast food
restaurants.
This is not to say fast food is obsolete in
Europe. In fact, while studying in Spain for
twenty weeks during 2015the common
meeting ground for one of the authors and
her friends was the Burger King in the city
center. Burger King has locations in 14
European nations plus the UKxix (burger
king). Yet, in thinking back over her time in
Spain and visits to neighboring countries, she
realized a difference between European fast
food and American. While fast food is far
from obsolete in the East, drive-throughs are
nearly non-existent. When people in
European countries choose to purchase fast
food, they still take the time to sit down with
friends or family to enjoy the consumption
aspect of the meal. Americans on the other
hand, speed away, eating in the mode of
utmost efficiency.
Perhaps we have reason to be in such a hurry.
According to the USBureau of Labor
Statistics, results from 2014indicate
employed persons, on average, spend 40.5
hours per week working. In comparison to
European countries: France 41.1, Spain: 41.6,
Italy: 40.5, and Germany: 42.0…the US
ranks… quite closelyxx (American Time
Use).Thus, is it fair to say we engage in this
rushed lifestyle because we physically don’t
have enough time?
The Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) hasa
catalogue titled, ‘The Better Life Index’ in
which various factors regarding feelings of
well-being in stable, established countries are
measured. The index evaluates qualities such
as education and skills, jobs and earnings,
social connections, personal security,
environmental quality, and—most important
for us—work-life balance. America rates
below average on the work-life balance with
a score of 5.3on a 10.0scale. While France
holds a rating of 7.6, Spain 9.3, Italy 7.5, and
Germany 8.0xxi (OECD). Thescores of four
European countries are all at least 2.2grades
higher than America’s! This subpar rating
explains that many of us find the time we
have after 8.1hours working and 7.8hours
sleeping to be unsatisfactory Bureau. Why?
One answer is offered in the film, “Eat, Pray,
Love” when a conversation emerges between
an American tourist and an Italian:
I feel so guilty. I’ve been in Rome for
three weeks and all I’ve done is learn
a few Italian words and eat.
You feel guilty because you are an
American! Youdon’t know how to
enjoy yourself!
I beg your pardon?
It’s true. Americans know
entertainment. But they don’t know
pleasure… I’m serious. Listen to me!
You want to know your problem?
Americans… you work too hard, you
get burned out! Then you come home
and spend the entire weekend in your
pajamas in front of the TV!xxii
While this is a film written by Americans, it
holds some validity. Perhaps we spend too
much of our free time in unsatisfying ways.
In 2014, American individuals ages 15and
older watched, on average, 2.8hours of
television each day. It is noteworthy to
mention that this statistic is founded on a
population of full, part time, and unemployed
persons. Thus, it is not entirely indicative of
our poor work-life balance. Yet it can hardly
be said such long periods of time watching

TV give us the great pleasure the Italian
barber referred to. Rather, as he said, it
simply entertains us.
But how exactly do we achieve pleasure?
How can we improve our work-life index?
How can we enjoy the lifestyles of Europe
which so captivate us? The answer could
quite easily be found in food.
Each European nation has its own rich
traditions surrounding food but we can draw
similarities from one to the next. In
comparing these similarities, we may better
understand the differences in American
dining customs, thus solving the mystery of a
poor ‘better-life’ index.
Spaniards are famous for their afternoon
break in the day, called siesta. During this
period of time between 2:00 and 5:00 most
stores and services close and workers return
home. For Spaniards, lunch is, “an
opportunity to get together with friends and
family, talk about the day and relax a little
before returning to work”. As a result of this
midday break, Spaniards often work until
9:00pm. After work though, they find time to
exercise and ‘tapear’. The verb tapear best
equates to American bar hopping, though in a
more moderate sense. Spaniards pass from
bar to bar, taking it in turns to buy rounds of
drinks for their friends. When drinks are
served, they come with small,
complementary portions of food. This
tradition began with King Alfonso X who
decided it best to imbibe while eating (so as
not to become overly inebriated). For
Spaniards, the act of eating each night is most
notably a social one. As one individual
claims, an American, “eats because he is
hungry” whereas a Spaniard eats, “as an
excuse to be with his family and friendsxxiii
(Bulnes). A former European now residing in
America seems to agree saying, “For some,
the 2-3 hours I spend having dinner is a waste
of time. For me, it is the best part of my
day… I’d rather starve waiting for my
roommates to get home or call a dozen
people to find someone to have dinner with
than eat by myself” xxiv(eating habits). For
Spaniards, the daily task of eating is not so
much a task at all, but rather something to
look forward to.
The aforementioned hardware store owner
and grandfather to one of our authors,
Edward Hackett, has visited Germany on a
handful of occasions and is quite captivated
by the Baltic style of eating. Each night he,
his wife, and their friends would try out a
new restaurant. The restaurants on average
held only eight tables of six. Most restaurants
are family owned and each owner expressed
great pleasure when a group walking by
would pause, and decide to enter. The
happiness extended beyond the financial
benefits, instead expressing sincere gratitude
that others wanted to spend their evening in
his/her restaurant. In reflecting, Mr. Hackett
said one of the most enjoyable aspects of his
time dining in Germany was the concept that
the table was yours for the evening. Unlike in
the States, there is no ‘turning tables’.
European restaurants invite guests to stay as
long as they’d like. “Once we’d finished out
food” he said, “we asked for some more wine
and they brought it to us, along with a bowl
full of nuts; wewere never pushed out the
door”. Instead they had to request the check,
signally they were done dining—contrasting
greatly from the American restaurants
eschewing their guest out the door signaling
the restaurant is done with you!
As we’ve glimpsed thus far, for Europeans,
tradition is of utmost importance because it
“keeps a sort of order to things”
xxv(renegade). Tradition prevents overeating
and encourages one to enjoy their food and
company. The unspoken rules dictating how
Italians drink their coffee exemplifies this. In
Italy, “the cappuccino or caffé latte is
something you drink in the morning, for
breakfast. At other times of the day you’re
supposed to drink black espresso, and only
after meals… In America of course, once we
embraced the caffé latte, we didn’t attach any
traditions around it. Which means people
have giant lattes loaded with sugar and
calories several times a day!” xxvi(renegade).
The English have traditions rooted in
afternoon tea, a time in the day offering
people chance to break for a warm beverage
and a sweet (renegade). The French on the

other hand, are famous for their rich, creamy
meals (renegade). Because they prefer such
rich foods, often laden with butter and cream,
they choose to balance by consuming smaller
portions. Given a plate of food that falls on
the small end of the spectrum, the French will
not gobble it up then take a second trip to the
buffet or look around for a refill. Rather, they
choose to eat less to counter the calorie dense
food.
So what’s American tradition? Being a
melting pot of cultures our lengthy histories
have mixed, and today, many traditions have
dissolved, giving way to a new food culture.
This culture is mixed; one common food
practice is grabbing take-out from one of
thirteen thousand fast food chains that reside
stateside (90% of them providing drive-
throughs). As far as grocery stores, we see
shelves stocked with Little Debbies, snack
pack Pringles, bags of Cheese-It’s,
Lunchables, and gummies. These are just a
few of our favorites that add variation to the
McNuggets and Whoppers. Other norms are
fat-free yogurt and granola, fruit and spinach
smoothie blends, and quinoa dinners. So
where do we stand?
As we saw on the first and second pages,
Americans are not satisfied with our lack of
time but we still choose to rush through our
meals—be it fast food or a yogurt at our desk.
Moreover, we are less satisfied with our
work-life balance than people of other
countries. Andas we just discussed, our
traditions are not so much traditions as a new
‘to go’ culture. While we are experiencing a
shift toward perceived healthier eating styles
(aisles of organic salad mix, Greek yogurt,
and whole wheat bread mixed in between the
aisles of Twinkies), we are still missing
particular benefits of slower-paced cultures
such as France, Spain, Italy and Germany.
Therefore, we’d like to conclude by shedding
light on the factors creating our fast paced
world and the consequence it has on all of us.
Walter Lippmann states there are several
factors that affect our pseudo environments.
These factors operate on the left side of an
equation; when added together we can see
the consequence they have on us. The factors
include:
Distortion
Artificial censorship
Meager time
Limitations of contact
+ Fear of facing the facts
Pseudo environment
The first factor suggests reality is distorted in
our mind's eye, which becomes clear when
we look at our average life spans. The life
expectancy in the US averages to 78.80years
(world life expectancy). The combined
countries of France, Spain, Italy, and
Germany have a life expectancy average of
82.11. Whether American or European, we
have quite a lot of time on this earth. The
perception that life is short and we must fill
every moment with errands, tasks, and work
is simply absurd. The USlife expectancy in
1915was an average of 54.65(Berkeley).
We’ve added over twenty four years to our
lives in the past hundred years and somehow
we still don’t feel we have enough time. Yet,
if we slow down our pace to match that of
our European neighbors, we’d actually gain
time, based on their life expectancies in
comparison to our own.
Artificial censorship, the second factor,
comes into play when nutritional labels
aren’t the source of accuracy we perceive
them to be. For example, the FDA mandates
……[cupcake fat content/serving size
example]…….. As a result, people are not
making the informed decisions they think
they are. The briefness of a food label is a
positive factor because it informs non-
nutritional experts about their food quickly;
however, the artificial censorship creates
inaccuracies thereby causing detrimental
effects on our country.
The next factor in the equation is the meager
amount of time available in each day. This
corresponds to our choices to ‘simplify’ our
lives by using time-savers. An example of a
time saver would be cooking a frozen pizza
instead of making one from scratch. While
we think this is simplifying our evening, it is
probably just giving us more time to pay
taxes later or do a load of laundry. It is not

making our life easier but more hectic.
Because we feel pressed for time, we are
eating something that most likely has less
nutritional value and we’re also losing out on
opportunities to share this time with our
friends or family. The time you spend
cooking can allow you to share family
recipes with your children or discus your
childhood memories of cooking with
relatives they may never have met. Through
sharing these personal matters, we form
closer bonds with people. Without these
leisurely time periods, these bonds are harder
to form.
The fourth factor—limitations of social
contact—is grounded in the title of this
chapter: a look across the Atlantic. The
implications of this factor take root in the
cultural sharing between nations. Few
implications exist between European nations
just as few implications exist between US
states. However, when cultural sharing
occurs between the two continents, the
dynamic changes. The result is Americans
looking across to Europe with a telescope
that only transmits a broken, fuzzy view of
what actually exists. Take for example the
French crêpe. While it is doubtful that the
French think anyone but themselves can
create true crêpes, the Spaniards to their
south are doing a pretty good job. When we
Americans have a go though, they increase to
four times the thickness of a real crêpe, are
stacked a mile high, slabs of butter placed
between each, and maple syrup cascading
down. It’s evident there’s some disparity
between the two…
The final factor in Lippmann’s equation is
our fear of facing facts that threaten our
routine. This varies in severity. For some, the
fear of not accomplishing everything on a
daily to do list is nothing short of
incompetent. It threatens face, and would
make us feel we are somehow less
successful. For others, a routine change is
equivalent to a diet change. The thought of
eating less Egg McMuffins or buying fewer
boxes of Easy Mac is bothersome. There are
those who think neither of these options is
pleasant. But-- the outcomes are. The results
of say, taking on a Mediterranean diet and
fashioning that diet around family meals or
taking it with you when you dine out with
friends could be as significant as elongating
your lifespan! Longer lives means more
opportunity to vacation or maybe even see
your grandchildren get married.
Now we are able to look to the end factor of
Lippmann’s equation. When you take
distortion, artificial censorship, meager
amount of time, the limitation of contact, and
fear of facing the facts, what wehave is a
pseudo environment. A pseudo environment
differs from reality and, in the case of
Americans, is a shared perception of what
really doesn’t exist. It’s as if we’ve found a
photograph that had been left outside and it’s
become damaged by the morning dew, faded
by the afternoon sun, and smudged with
fingerprints that all work together to distort
the image.
We like the picture though, so we write on
the back naming who each person is and the
time stamp at the bottom. We then stick it in
our photo album which will be passed down
for generations to come. Unfortunately, our
inscription on the back was not entirely
correct. Who we thought was great uncle Pat
standing next to the grill was really grandpa
Kilmer. And what weread as 1953was
actually 1943. These subtle discrepancies may
not have much impact on us based on one
picture. But as you can probably guess, given
many pictures—say a whole album full—we
will have created an inaccurate sense of
reality. Because of this, we don’t fully
understand our family tree or the different
artifacts and pastimes of various decades in
our history.
Now put the photograph analogy in terms of
our eating and lifestyle choices and it
becomes clear that the latter has more dire
consequences. Given a false sense of reality,
an upward battle such as fighting weight gain
can turn into a flat faced, 90º climb because
our food labels are full of inaccuracies. What
we think we are taking in is not what we are
in taking in reality. A skewed understanding
of stress can take years off your life. A
slanted version of what’s important in life

can, in reality, make you sick with
depression.
If we use Europe as a template, we can
choose as a nation to alter our perceptions
until they come to align with reality. The way
to get there is to change your personal pseudo
environment. If you personally like red meat,
maybe a Mediterranean diet isn’t for you. But
perhaps taking your kid out to the tree stand
and teaching them how to hunt, and reaping
the benefits of your efforts around the
kitchen table is the way for you. By altering
our lifestyles we can save lives. We can
enhance lives. And, we can lengthen lives. So
that trip you always wanted to take with your
wife to Paris or the family vacation to Rome
you’ve longed to take may not only result in
lifelong stories to tell but a more fulfilling
and life for you and your family.

Chapter III: Consequences of Food Labeling
Inaccurate food labeling has many
consequences including but not limited to,
obesity, allergy attacks, and over eating of
certain foods due to the misinformation on
the food labels. People all over the world are
being misinformed about health and
nutrition. Results of this misinformation can
have serious consequences. One of which is
obesity. Obesity can cause and advance
several different diseases such as Coronary
Heart Disease, High-blood pressure, Stroke,
Type 2 Diabetes, Abnormal Blood Fats,
Metabolic Syndrome, Cancer, Osteoarthritis,
Sleep Apnea, Obesity Hypoventilation
Syndrome, Reproductive Problems and
Gallstones. One way that inaccurate food
labeling can cause obesity is a
misinformation about calories. A calorie is a
measure of usable energy. According to
IFLScience, food labels say how many
calories a food contains. But what labels
don’t say is that how many calories you
actually get out of your food depends on how
highly processed it is. Food processing
includes cooking, blending and mashing, or
using refined flour instead of unrefined flour.
(IFL Science)
Depending on what it is, food can come
processed already from the manufacturers
before being purchased or raw and processed
by the consumer. Regardless, the impact of
consuming food cooked versus raw is
astronomical. For example, if you eat your
food raw, you will tend to lose weight. Raw
foods such as fruits and vegetables supply us
with high nutrient levels and are generally
low in calories too. Raw vegetables are
dramatically low in calories and we probably
only absorb about 50calories a pound from
raw vegetables. (Food Saftey Magazine)
However, if the same food is being consumed
but cooked first, you will tend to gain weight.
when food is cooked, only small amounts of
nutrients are lost with conservative cooking
like making a soup, but many more nutrients
are made more soluble.(The Conversation)
The lack of specifics on food labels are not
the only thing being misunderstood by
consumers; serving sizes and particular
amounts of each ingredient are also
misleading to consumers due to inaccurate
information. (Food labeling Chaos) Animal
experiments show that processing affects
calorie gain whether the energy source is
carbohydrate, protein or lipid (fats and oils).
Researchers fed rats two kinds of laboratory
chow. They had some rats eating solid
uncooked pellets, and others eating the same
pellets but they were cooked and therefore
like a puffed breakfast cereal. Both sets of
rats ate the same weight in food but the rats
eating the puffed pellets grew heavier and
had 30 percent more body fat than their
counterparts eating the regular, raw chow. In
almost every case, more processed foods
give a consumer more energy. (The
Conversation)
Carbohydrates provide more than half of the
populations calories. Their energy is often
packaged in starch grains that are dense
packets of glucose that get digested mainly in
your small intestine. If you eat a starchy food
raw, up to half of the starch grains pass
through the small intestine entirely
undigested. (the conversation) When this
happens, your body is only getting two-thirds
or less of the total calories available in the
food you are consuming, the other one-third
that is not being consumed might be used by
the bacteria in your colon or just passed out
of your body whole. Not to say that cooking
your food will guarantee that you will get 100
percent of the desired calories; digestibility
varies amongst people. Given the importance
of counting calories correctly, the public
demands more education on the effects of
how we prepare our food on our individual
weight gain. Calorie-counting is too
important to allow a system that is clearly
limited to be the best on offer. We need
major scientific effort to produce adequate
numbers on the effects of food-processing as
well as knowing directly what the content of
ingredients is in the food we consume.
Specifics should be labeled clearly and be
present on every product we consume.

Many processes and additives are in food
whether they are mandated to be labeled or
not. The FDA has limits that can be reached
by food corporations that are legally
acceptable, some of these limits are more
shocking than realistic to the average
consumer. Food manufacturers are allowed
to round to zero for any ingredient that
accounts for less than 0.5 grams per serving.
So if you eat three servings of trans-fat-free
chips, you could actually be getting up to 1.5
grams of trans fats. “Incidental additives” do
not need to be listed on the label. Incidental
additives include substances transferred to
foods via packaging, and “ingredients of
other ingredients” that are present at
“insignificant levels.” “Clean labels” are
rampant. Consumers don’t have to look too
far to find foods with clean labels. People are
more interested now about what’s in their
food, how it’s made and where the
ingredients come from. They’re checking
labels more closely so “natural” and “clean
label” are becoming more defined, though
the Food and Drug Administration continues
to be reticent about creating a definition for
them. (Food Processing) Clean labeled foods
are no longer only found at small obscure
health food stores; they are increasingly
impacting major food manufacturers and
ingredient manufacturers. today, clean,
simple foods are changing America’s eating
habits. (Hg.org)
Not only are “clean labels” hard to come by,
there are various ingredients that food labels
tend to have misinformation on as well as
food not being presented in the way that it
should. Food fraud has become an increasing
concern among consumers. As a result of the
growing number of cases of food fraud, a
new database has been created to track faked
food products called the Food Fraud
Database. Currently, the Food Fraud
Database only has records of cases of food
fraud dating from 1980to 2012. Oneof the
biggest potential offenders of food fraud is
honey. In several recent instances,
investigators were unable to determine the
origin of various store-bought honeys
because they lacked any pollen. (Hg.org)
“Usually, honey contains some about of
pollen, identifying the source of the honey,
like honeysuckle, orange blossom, or
avocado. Honey that happens to be so
thoroughly filtered to the point where it does
not contain any pollen, violates the Food and
Drug Administration guidelines regarding
what can legally be called ‘honey.’” (Hg.org)
Food manufacturers know that certain
ingredients are frowned upon, but instead of
taking them out of their products, they may
just attempt to hide them on the label using a
name you won’t recognize. For example,
sugar could be labeled as sugar, high-
fructose corn syrup, anhydrous dextrose,
corn sweetener, cane sugar, malt syrup,
crystal dextrose, etc.(healthy eating) All of
these words account for the same ingredient
but they are said different ways so that you
won’t know what it is.With that they also
could include the same ingredient several
times but each time they use a different
name. Many other additives are also exempt
from being labeled, or may be stated in a way
that makes it harder to find for the average
consumer. This would include genetically
modified ingredients, irradiated ingredients,
and ingredients from cloned animals.
“Natural contaminants” are also allowed and
present in your food, they include things like
insect parts, insect eggs, and rodent hairs.
According to CBSNews, the FDA handbook
called “ Food Defect Action Levels: Levels
of Natural or Unavoidable Defects in Foods
That Present No Health Hazard for Humans,”
says that filth is “objectionable matter
contributed by insects, rodents, and birds;
decomposed material; and miscellaneous
matter such as sand, soil, glass, rust, or other
foreign substances.”(Food safety magazine)
Not only is inaccurate food labeling not
telling consumers the particulars in their
food, it can also be a deadly combination for
people who have food allergies and don’t
know exactly what they are getting; as well
as it can create new allergies due to their
GMO content.
“In December 2012, 10year old, Nicholas
Vanech ate a bag of M&M’s then went into
anaphylactic shock, a severe allergic reaction
that caused his tongue and throat to swell,

making it difficult to breathe and landed him
a trip to the emergency room. Nicholas was
allergic to tree nuts, also known as almonds,
on the package of M&M’s it only said that it
“may contain peanuts” to which he was not
allergic to and therefore he ate them.” (CBS)
After this incident, his mother called the
manufacturer asking if their product could
have been exposed to tree nuts and they told
her that it was the same facility. An ABC
News analysis found more than 400 recalls
for undeclared allergens in food reported to
the FDA since march 2009. A few weeks after
Nicholas’ allergic reaction, the Food and
Drug Administration and manufacturers had
issued 20 recalls for undeclared allergens in
food products, including Chicken of the Sea
tuna, which had undeclared soy; two kinds of
Wegmans brownie mix with undeclared
milk; and two kinds of ice cream with
undeclared pecans according to the FDA
records. Eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish,
tree nuts, soy, and wheat make up 90 percent
of food allergies, according to a 2008CDC
report that found an 18 percent rise in
children diagnosed with food allergies
between 1997and 2007. (CBS)
Federal law requires manufacturers to list
(CBS) The law is called the Food Allergen
Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of
2004, which when into effect in 2006. Ofthe
eight top food allergies only soy is
commercially available in genetically
modified varieties. According to Food Safety
magazine, seven years after the Food
Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection
Act when into effect, unlabeled allergens
continue to be the leading cause of recalls
and a leading cause of reportable foods for
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
regulated foods. Allergic consumers rely on
food labels to be complete, clear, and
accurate so that they can avoid exposure to
foods or ingredients that can provoke
potentially life-threatening reactions.
According to the CDC, data shows that the
number of food-allergic consumers is
increasing as are the number of hospital visits
related to food allergic reactions. (CBS)

Chapter IV: Government Involvement:
America has prided itself since birth in its
many freedoms. Our government was
founded on principles that differed
drastically from our mother country’s power-
house structure. We chose instead to be a
nation of checks and balances, a nation of the
people, a nation with transparency.
Transparency is a key attribute to our system,
enabling citizens to keep an eye on the
operations of elected officials, ensuring both
businesses and government be open with
their practices. Once public awareness of the
food labeling situation became widespread,
many Americans looked to the House of
Representatives for further information and
possible solutions. What they found instead
was a lack of transparency in the form of the
DARK Act. ‘DARK’serves as an acronym
for: Deny Americans the Right to Know.
The DARK Act appears to have come about
as a result of a state law, signed by Vermont
governor, Peter Shumlin, in 2014. This law
specifies the state of Vermont will require
any partial or entirely genetically modified
foods be labeled as of July, 2016(CNN).
Vermont is not the only state taking
initiatives to enhance public awareness of
GMO’s; both Connecticut and Maine have
trigger clauses in place. The occurrence of
additional GMO labeling laws passed by
other states will trigger the passing of
Connecticut’s and Maine’s laws into effect
(CNBC). While these states have taken the
actions requested by their citizens, they may
be federally overruled. The next step for the
DARK Act is put to the test in a Senate vote
(Foodcoop). If the DARK Act is signed into
law it will preempt state laws mandating the
labeling of GMO products (Just Label IT).
Cathleen Enright, the executive vice
president for the Biotechnology Industry
Organization stresses that GMO products are
as safe as those products that don’t contain
GMO’s. Enright says, “these same GM crops
have enabled farmers to produce more on
less land with fewer pesticide applications,
less water and reduced on-farm fuel use”
(CNN). If this is the case, the reasoning for
the DARK Act passing the Federal law-
making bodies is flawed. If GMO and non-
GMO foods are equally safe, states should be
able to call for labeling as it doesn’t hurt the
people, it simply requests more knowledge
from the food industries.
Yet some call into question why government
should be involved at all. As to that we can
simply look back to the early 1900’s when
Upton Sinclair’s book, “The Jungle” was
published. Sinclairs book is well known for
its attack on the meatpacking plants when
countless examples portrayed the horrors of
the industry. At the time when the book was
published in 1906, there was not the
governmental restrictions in place that there
are today. Thanks to Sinclair, much of the
population became aware they were not only
being cheated out of money but also being
hoodwinked into buying disease riddled
products. Some industries, for example,
created a premium smoked sausage which
was nothing more than meat meddled with
by the company’s chemistry department.
Instead of using the time exhaustive (and
therefore money demanding) methods to
smoke the meats, they would preserve it with
borax and use gelatin as a die, making it
brown in color (Conditions in). Sinclair
stated, “all of their sausage came out of the
same bowl, but when they came to wrap it
they would stamp some of it “special,” and
for this they would charge two cents more a
pound”(Conditions in). Asthe public read on,
they came to realize the conditions in which
their meat was stored.
There would be meat stored in great piles in
rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would
drip over it, and thousands of rats
would race about on it. It was too dark in
these storage places to see well, but
a man could run his hand over these piles of
meat and sweep off handfuls of
the dried dung of rats. These rats were

nuisances, and the packers would put
poisoned bread out for them; they would die,
and then rats, bread, and meat would go
into the hoppers
together”(Conditions in).
The Jungle provides evidence that we’ve
only recently escaped the fates of a
government who took a laissez faire
approach to its food system. Business should
not be the sole regulators when the matters at
hand concern something as large-scale and
health consequential as the public's food
supply.
Many big food companies have seen error in
the way the House of Representatives has
been handling the DARK Act. For example
Ben & Jerry’s, one of Just Label It's silver
sponsors, personally wrote the House of
Representatives regarding this issue and
where they stand. Ben and Jerry’s conducts
its business in over 30countries, many of
which require mandatory GMO labeling.
While Cathleen Enright (mentioned above)
warned, “ labeling could make food costs for
the average household could go up as much
as $400a year (CNN). Ben and Jerry’s
contradicted that argument saying, “we make
changes to between 25% and 50% of our
packaging. Over the last 7 years, we at Ben
and Jerry’s have gone through three full line
redesigns. In other words, we have changed
the packaging on every single point in their
product line as a matter of normal business. I
can tell you unequivocally that changing
labels does not require us raise the price of
our products” (justlabelit).
In today's world more people are becoming
aware of the food they are putting into their
bodies and also the ingredients of that food
item. But what if the labels weren't
completely accurate? Would you still feed
that food to your family? Would you still buy
that food for yourself? Its when these types
questions arise that people look for a course
of action to take in order to be fully informed
on what they are consuming. In this case
what the people see as being informed is the
specific, clear, and accurate labeling of
foods. “It’s getting harder and harder for
opponents of GMO labeling to ignore the
mushrooming opposition to the Deny
Americans the Right to Know
Act.”(Sciammacco, Sara)This is when many
have discovered the efforts of online
campaigns such as “JustLabelIt”.
“JustLabelIt” is a campaign created to
promote the labeling of GMOs on all food
product. Since GMOs have become known
to the public many people have begun
questioning what is in their food and how it
got there without being labeled. “It has been
shown that 90% of Americans support the
mandatory labeling of GMOs on their foods.
Ever since GMOs entered the market 20years
ago, we’ve been kept in the dark about
whether foods we feed our families contain
GMOs.” (Genetically Modified) After
finding out more about GMOs a multitude of
American families now look more carefully
at what food they are feeding their families.
When the states discovered this issue some
decided to address it while others stood back
and evaluated the possible courses of action.
Some states such as “Vermont, Connecticut
and Maine have already passed labeling laws
and, in the past two years, more than 70
labeling bills or ballot initiatives were
introduced across 30 states. In response to
these state efforts, legislation backed by big
food and biotechnology corporations-
dubbed the Denying Americans the Right to
Know (DARK) Act- has been introduced and
seeks to halt labeling efforts.” (Genetically
Modified) Butnot everyone in the country
was ready for such a big change. Other states
such as California had another idea when it
came to labeling their foods. “In November
2012California voters rejected the similar
Proposition 37 by a narrow majority of 51.4
percent. “All we want is a simple label/For
the food that's on our table,” chanted
marchers before the elections.” (Labels for)
Once Americans realized the issue is present
in their own country the question come up
about other countries around the world. As
the average american begins to look at the
issues regarding GMOs on a global scale we
soon come to realize that other countries
have already addressed this. When we look at
places such as Japan, Australia, and China we

see established laws regarding the labeling of
GMOs. But when we look at the our own
country we come to realize that “the U.S. has
no national law requiring labeling of
genetically modified foods. Yet polls have
repeatedly shown that the vast majority of
Americans. As ABC Newsstated, “Such
near-unanimity in public opinion is
rare.”(SOURCE) Governmentregulation is
needed, public opinions are clear and the
time is now to work towards change.
When we think to ourselves ‘Why has no one
addressed this yet?’ we have come to the
realization that President Obama has not yet
honored his pledge to require the labeling of
GMOs. With knowing his stance on GMO
labeling, it is important to also look to the
polls to see where the current presidential
candidates stand regarding the fight to label
GMOs. It has been said that “All of the major
candidates are in complete opposition to
GMO labeling.” (Virtually All) Infact many
candidates directly attack the labeling of
GMOs on food products by saying that it is
‘anti-science’. One of the republican
candidates, Mike Huckabee, said that he
agreed with his competitors stating “GMO
labeling just made a lot less ‘sense’ to him
than labeling foods by their country of
origin”(Virtually All).

Conclusion and Recommendations
In light of understanding how and why
accurate food labeling is so important for the
well being of our society, we may now ask
ourselves what can we as consumers do to
help solve this problem. Alongside staying
informed with what is going on in Congress
and at big food corporations, invest time
towards educating yourself on the
importance of a transparent food system.
Understanding the roots of a problem make
finding a solution much less of a hassle. Not
one person can change the world, in this case
to change innacurate food labeling. But
having elevated awareness on the health
consequences involved, denied rights we
have as consumers in America and unknown
ingredients we eat without knowing makes
this social issue more relevant than we think.
We offer the following recommendations to
our readers.
 The DARK Act is refraining our
society from having a more
transparent, understandable food
system and educating yourself further
on how to help is possible. Follow
this link to take action petition to the
FDA why accurate food labeling is
crucial.
http://www.justlabelit.org/action-
center/take-action/
 Genetically modified organisms are
in 80%of the foods we consume so
having further understanding on what
they are and the effects they can
potentially have on us is important to
realize. Research is being conducted
and will continue to be for many
years to come, staying updated on
any new findings related to GMO’s
can be found at:
http://www.gmo.news/
 Understanding other cultures ways of
eating can expand our options
towards living a more positive
lifestyle, especially in regards to
slowing down and enjoying more of
our time.
 Multiple consequences as listed
above may be the result of poor
eating habits, but as shown that is not
entirely our fault as consumers.
Doing your best to understand the
content of your food can improve
your chances of living an honest and
healthy lifestyle. The following
website may be used as a guide to you
in helping further understand
nutrition labels:
http://www.fda.gov/Food/Ingredient
sPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutriti
on/ucm274593.htm

Endnotes:
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Labor, June 24, 2015, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/atus.pdf
Ana Bulnes, “12 Differences Between a Normal Friend and a Spanish Friend,” Matador
Network, August 13, 2015, http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/12-differences-normal
-friend-spanish-spanish-friend-/?single=1
Andreana “Addy” Drencheva, “A Southern European’s Struggle with American Food,” The
Next Generation, December 16, 2009, http://www.thenextgreatgeneration.com/2009/
12/south-europeans-struggle-american-food/
“Burger King.” International Locations, accessed December 3, 2015,
http://www.bk.com/international
"Center for Food Safety | Issues | GE Food Labeling | Fact Sheets," Center for Food Safety,
Accessed November 7, 2015, http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/976/ge-food-
labeling/fact-sheets.
Constance N. Hadley, and Steven J. Kramer, “Creativity Under the Gun,” Harvard Business
Review, August 2002 Issue, accessed December 3, 2015.
https://hbr.org/2002/08/creativity-under-the-gun"Food Allergy," ACAAI. 2014,
Accessed December 15, 2015. http://acaai.org/allergies/types/food-allergies.
Frederic Patenaude, “Eating Habits of Americans vs. “French People and Europeans,” Renegade
Health (blog), November, 2015, http://renegadehealth.com/blog/eating-habits-france
"GMOs and Your Family," The NonGMO Project RSS, 2015, Accessed December 15, 2015,
http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/gmos-and-your-family/.
"GMO and the FDA," GMO Awareness, December 19, 2012, Accessed December 15, 2015.
http://gmo-awareness.com/all-about-gmos/gmo-fda/.
Heather Stewart, “Who Works the Longest Hours in Europe?” The Guardian, December 8,
2011, http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/dec/08/europe-working-hours
"H.R.1599 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015,"
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Jane Sooby. "2012 Ag Census Reveals Organic Farming Growth," 2012 Ag Census Reveals
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Jennifer Cohen, “14‘Healthy’ Foods That Are Actually Bad For You,” Forbes, July 25, 2012,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifercohen/2012/07/25/14-healthy-foods-that-are-
actually-bad-for-you/
Joseph Mercola, "Genetically Modified Foods Are Not Safe To Eat," Genetically Modified Food,
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2014, http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-
depth/whole-grains/art-20047826
“Better Life Index,” OECD Better Life Index,
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Paul Maidment, “The Price of Time,” Forbes, February 29, 2008, http://www.forbes.com/2008
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2015, Accessed December 15, 2015, http://responsibletechnology.org/gmo-education/the-
ge-process/.
Wendy Worrall Redal, “5 Ways Europeans Live Better than Americans,” Gaiam Life, January
17, 2012, http://blog.gaiam.com/5-ways-europeans-live-better-than-americans/
XiaoZhi, Lim. "Are GMOs Causing an Increase in Allergies? | Genetic Literacy Project,"
Genetic Literacy Project, April 16, 2014, Accessed December 15, 2015.
https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/04/16/are-gmos-causing-an-increase-in-
allergies/.
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food-labeling/fact-sheets.
ii Jennifer Cohen, “14‘Healthy’ Foods That Are Actually Bad For You,” Forbes, July 25, 2012,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifercohen/2012/07/25/14-healthy-foods-that-are-
actually-bad-for-you/
iii Mayo Clinic Staff, “Whole Grains: Hearty Options for a Healthy Diet,” Mayo Clinic, July 19,
2014, http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-
depth/whole-grains/art-20047826
iv Jennifer Cohen.
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vi GMOs
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Genetic Literacy Project, April 16, 2014, Accessed December 15, 2015.
allergies/.
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education/the-ge-process/.

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Food, 2015, December 5, 2015, Accessed December 15, 2015,
xii Josephy Mercola
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Organic Farming Growth, June 30, 2014, Accessed December 15, 2015,
xiv "H.R.1599 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015,"
H.R.1599, July 23, 2015, Accessed December 15, 2015.
xv Joseph Mercola
xvi Paul Maidment, “The Price of Time,” Forbes, February 29, 2008, http://www.forbes.com/2008
/02/28/economics-time-price-oped-time08-cx_pm_0229maidment.html
xvii Frederic Patenaude, “Eating Habits of Americans vs. “French People and Europeans,”
Renegade Health (blog), November, 2015, http://renegadehealth.com/blog/eating-habits-
france
xviii Wendy Worrall Redal, “5 Ways Europeans Live Better than Americans,” Gaiam Life,
January 17, 2012, http://blog.gaiam.com/5-ways-europeans-live-better-than-americans/
xix “Burger King.” International Locations, accessed December 3, 2015,
xx “American Time Use Survey-- 2014Results,” Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of
xxi “Better Life Index,” OECD Better Life Index,
xxii Frederic Patenaude
xxiii Ana Bulnes, “12 Differences Between a Normal Friend and a Spanish Friend,” Matador
Network, August 13, 2015, http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/12-differences-normal
-friend-spanish-spanish-friend-/?single=1
xxiv Frederic Patenaude
xxv Frederic Patenaude
xxvi Frederic Patenaude

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