Wise Geek
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food are a growing concern for a number of consumers who are worried about the impact that GMOs may have on their health. As a result, many companies in the late 1990s began to apply the GMO free label, indicating that their food does not contain GMOs. The labeling movement took off, especially at the beginning of the 21st century, when consumers became much more educated about GMOs, the companies that produce them, and the choice of eating GMO free.
A number of nations legislate labeling, and in Europe, food must be labeled to indicate whether or not it contains GMOs. In the United States, however, GMO free labeling is purely voluntary and not regulated by any governmental body or organization. For this reason, the validity of the label was questioned, and numerous organizations began pressuring the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the United States Department of Agriculture, to enact legislation governing food labeling in regards to GMOs in the late 1990s. As of 2006, no Federal standards for GMO free labeling existed, although several counties along the coastlines of the United States had taken matters into their own hands, either banning the growth of GMOs in their region or requiring more informative labeling. It is the hope of many food activists that the GMO free label will be standardized, so that consumers can be assured about the GMO content of products they purchase.
Most consumers have foods containing GMOs in their home. Corn and soy beans are both heavily modified, and it is quite difficult to find examples of these crops that have not been modified. This is partly due to the widespread practice of GMO cultivation, and partly because of seed drift, causing neighboring fields to become contaminated with GMO crops.
The harmful nature of GMOs has been questioned, especially by commercial