Last updated on March 6th, 2013 at 09:17 am
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Bill Maher brought up a great point about GMO labeling. Even China requires GMO labeling, but the United States does not.
Here is the video:
Bill Maher was talking about how Americans are outraged by the horse meat scandal, but the majority of us appear not to care about what is really in our food, when he said, “Fifty other countries require GMO labeling including most of Europe, Japan, Australia, India, Saudi Arabia, China. That’s right, China. A country that puts Melamine, a chemical fire retardant, in their baby formula. Which sounds irresponsible, but come on, when was the last time you saw a Chinese baby catch on fire? But hey, let’s look at the silver lining. It’s actually a good thing that Americans don’t care what they put in their mouth, because in the future thanks to overpopulation, and over fishing, and global warming, and Chris Christie, we’re running out of the food we do like to eat.”
Maher’s message was, “If we don’t fix how we grow food, and stop turning the oceans into a carbon sink for coal, we’re going to have to learn how to eat all the few gnarly maggoty things that can survive mankind…So enjoy eating your chemically processed crap now America, because it won’t be long before lunch is dung beetles and Soylent Green. And when all that runs out, I’m afraid it’s Papa Johns.”
China is a country that has used lead paint in children’s toys and on Halloween costumes, and they have GMO labeling. The United States does not. The American Medical Association is advocating for premarket safety assessment for all genetically engineered foods, but processed for giants like Pepsi, Coke, Nestle, Monsanto, ConAgra, DuPont, Dole, Campbell’s Soup, and almost every brand name that you would recognize on supermarket shelves spend millions of dollars every year fighting GMO labeling. Why? Because, they don’t want you to know what you are eating.
People have a right to eat whatever they want, but they also have a right to the information needed in order to make an informed decision. I suspect many Americans would continue eating the way they already do even with GMO labeling, but corporate America can’t run the risk of having their marketplace corrupted by informed consumers.
So Americans will continue to be outraged by every food mislabeling scandal, while never putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. As long this country continues to subsidize processed food over fresh or organic crops, corporations will continue to put profits ahead of people, and Americans can never be totally sure about the possible dangers behind what they are eating.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
