The nationwide food label debate continues, with a majority of U.S. consumers saying that any genetically modified organisms (GMOs) need to be properly labeled, according to a recent poll by The Huffington Post and YouGov. While respondents were unsure whether or not GMOs were safe for the environment or consumption, it was largely agreed upon that custom labels were necessary.
The results showed that of 1,000 U.S. adults, 82 percent said that GMOs should be labeled, while 35 percent thought that they were dangerous to eat. When it came to growing crops that had been genetically modified, the respondents were less confident, as 35 percent said growing GMO crops is bad for the environment and 8 percent said it’s good for the environment.
Colorado Rep. Jared Polis brought the GMO argument to his state’s attention by sponsoring a bill that will require proper food labels on any products that have been genetically modified. Polis told the CBS Denver news affiliate that 50 other countries already have similar laws in place. He warned that shoppers cannot fully know whether an item contains GMOs unless it’s organic.
“When you look at the ingredient list of a product, somebody can choose,” Polis said. “It’s not that sugar is unsafe, but a consumer might want to know if a product has sugar. Consumers clearly want to know which products contain genetically modified organisms, and which don’t.”
Polis added that his bill would not cost food companies anything extra, as it is simply a matter of adding a small bit of information to their nutrition labels.
In order to adhere to federal standards on labels, food and beverage companies should invest in professional tools that will design custom labels. Using a Primera LX900 color label printer can help businesses keep pace with the latest requirements.