Comment Re:GM producers are shooting themselves in the foo (Score 1) 514
The GM people don't want to be pushed into a situation similar to the gluten people - where idiotic superstitious people avoid their product
Examine what you are doing. You are arguing against everyone (that includes you) having more information available on their food because... they might waste time and energy avoiding things which may well prove to be harmless? Do you realize that not disclosing this information will convince large numbers of people that GMOs are in fact harmful to health, or that there is something else wrong with GMOs, something worth hiding? I wonder, if we had skipped this streisand-effect phase and mandated GMO labeling years ago, would anyone really care about it today? Maybe a few hardcore skeptics and Infowars fans, who would almost certainly be growing/canning/cooking all their own food already.
At the very least, I think you should have to turn in your nerd card for arguing against having more information available. I am baffled by how common this sentiment is on Slashdot; things sure have changed from the STEM-friendly hobbyist/DIY Slashdot I remember from the early 2000s, full of people who sought out and argued over the most trivial pieces of information.
There's a real strong-state, government-is-your-father-eternal attitude in that quoted section above that isn't warranted at all. The idea that government's proper role is to make the final call on what the people have a right to know; after all, they're just stupid superstitious plebs who would misunderstand or misapply the information, anyway. It's not like we're talking about something where there's an argument to be made that widespread knowledge could be trouble - like detailed plans and specifications on how to build thermonuclear devices (is that still officially classified material in the US?) - we're just talking about more descriptive labeling for food here.
First, this is a democratic republic, not some dictatorship. The people's wishes, even if they are silly or stupid, are supposed to be driving government, not the other way around. Yes, yes, pure democracy is capricious, and our government has checks and balances, though ever since Wickard v. Filburn inverted the commerce clause, I can't think of any that apply to this situation as the law is currently interpreted.
Second, you neglected to explain how labeling for GMOs would harm anyone in any way. The US isn't Africa during a drought, it's not like we have some shortage of farm capacity in the US that necessitates improved yields from GMOs... heck, we have so much excess capacity we can afford to screw around with organic farming's low yields. I guess it could harm the bottom line of food companies looking to pay off their R&D costs; though I'm pretty sure protecting corporate profits isn't a duty of government, and besides, if demand for GMOs fell, food companies would start selling more GMO-free foods to meet the changing market demand. I guess it could make GMOs harder to find for individuals seeking them out, though I'm not sure why exactly someone would do that (are there advantages? I haven't looked into it, myself), or why the onus should be on those avoiding GMOs to make GMOs more available for others.
Third... I see a lot of room for improvement in food labeling standards besides GMOs. Nutrition facts were a good start, but I'd like to see it made accurate to 0.1 g, not just to the nearest 1 g like now (would save diabetics a lot of grief from improperly gauging their sugar intake). While we're at it, let's also start using the actual chemical names of more of the ingredients instead of vague claims like "natural flavors". And if I'm buying produce, I'd like to see a box showing the levels of cadmium, lead, benzene, etc. in the soil - if I can get a report updated once per year on how many ppm of lead, arsenic, and various other nasties I'm getting in my tap water each year, why can't I find this same information for the food I eat? It's not like any of those requirements (or GMO labeling) would be more than a trifle for food companies to meet. And it's not like the information causes trouble for people who don't care - they don't have to read it. And if all this information is too much to fit on food packaging, I'm sure there's at least room for a QR code leading to the full information online.
Disclaimer: I don't give a damn one way or the other whether the food I'm buying is GMO-free or USDA certified organic. But a lot of people seem to care about these things, and it's no business of mine what foods they choose to eat or choose to shun, even if I think they might be doing it wrong. Only an insufferable busybody would do something like that.