Regulating Genetically Modified Foods: Is Mandatory Labeling the Right Answer?

hank you. Consumer Union, which is the organization that I work for, favors labeling genetically engineered food. At the base of our view on this issue is the view that genetically engineered food is different than regular food. I know some of our previous speakers have spoken about how this is all just one big continuum from conventional crops, but when you look at spider- silk goats, which are goats genetically engineered to produce spider silk in their milk that do in fact exist already on a test farm, the ordinary persons sees something different.

To the ordinary person, a spider-silk goat is signi cantly different from an ordinary goat. The question will arise at some point whether animals that are producing industrial chemicals in their milk, including cows, goats, and so forth, can be allowed in food supply. This is something that we need to consider.