Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
A catalog of current manipulations, such as use of genetic modifica-
tion, nano-scale materials, inert gases, and food irradiation, would be far
more extensive. However, the point is made that American consumers
have accepted an endless parade of technical manipulations of their
foods over the last half century, have grown accustomed to such changes,
are comforted by the assumption that the federal Food and Drug Admin-
istration (FDA) assures the safety of new additives and foods, lack time
and interest for looking into the content of their foods or weighing com-
peting scientific studies, and therefore express few reservations about the
stream of new food products.
This experience indicates a cultural predisposition for acceptance of
further technological manipulations, including genetic modification, by
American consumers. Indeed, public complacency has set in over the
past decade of GM food consumption because no outbreaks of illness
have occurred and no clearly convincing evidence of risk to consumers
from GM foods has been produced. An additional explanation for this
complacency is that the GM content of processed foods is largely com-
prised of commodity crops, such as GM soy, corn, and wheat, and their
derivatives such as corn oil and syrup. These ubiquitous components of
a multitude of processed food products, ranging from bread and pizza
to ice cream, yogurt, and soups, are not readily distinguishable or iden-
tifiable, enabling them to fall below the sensory screening capacity of
most consumers. As a result, consumer attention to the safety of pro-
cessed foods, whether GM or not, remains focused on traditional con-
cerns about the end product, such as its sanitary quality, the presence
of toxic pesticide residues, mold, bacteria, and other features capable of
causing illness.
Perhaps the most fundamental explanation of American acceptance
of GM agriculture and food, previously mentioned, is the utilitarian
ethos that prevails among consumers. Simply put, there is acceptance of
GM foods because they have not been proven unsafe, may be more safe
than conventional foods in certain respects (e.g., less pesticide residue),
are often nutritionally enhanced, have equivalent texture and other
