The specifications about label placement were "to reduce consumer confusion about food labels, to aid them in making healthy food choices" and the act as a whole was supposed to encourage manufactures to engage in healthy product innovation by giving manufacturers an incentive to improve the quality of the food and make more healthy food choices available (Wilkening 1993:1).
However, no label can be comprehensive and the 1993 legislation reflects the stress upon low-fat dieting for good health. Of the 14 mandatory nutrients required on labels "the order in which they must be listed" were as follows: "calories, calories from fat, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugars, protein, vitamin a, vitamin C, calcium and iron" (Wilkening, 1993:2). The requirement to list B. vitamins was eliminated as it was deemed deficiencies of B. vitamins was not a public health problem in the United States and it was more important that consumers be informed of a product's saturated fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber and sugars. "The revised order places nutrients currently of greatest public health significance first" (Wilkening, 1993:2). Additionally, recommended daily values of all nutrients were posted, but these were based on an average 2,000 calorie a day, low fat diet, which may not be appropriate for all Americans, rather this figure reflected the ideal, daily diet envisioned by the nutritionists and diet gurus such as Dean Ornish and other low-fat health advocates who supported the legislation.
Controversy still exists in food labeling -- and confusion. Part of this confusion is also due to the fact that not simply the FDA regulates food labeling and production. In terms of the controversy of what makes a product organic, it is the U.S. Department of Agriculture that stipulates a product is organic only if it does the following: prohibit the use of irradiation, sewage sludge, or genetically modified organisms in organic production, reflect eliminates national list of allowed synthetic and prohibited natural substances, does not use antibiotics in organic meat and poultry; and uses100% organic feed for organic livestock ("How to Read USDA Organic Labels," 2007, Organic Trade Association).
This is another example of how legislation, as was reflected in its advocacy, is in the...
GMO Food The process of genetic modification of an organism Genetic modification of an organism is the process by which the genes of an organism are altered to introduce useful genes that are believed to help it to grow and thrive in any given condition. The genes contain DNA, a basic building block of all living organisms that is responsible for the presence or absence of certain traits or characteristics and modification
Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill believed in the subjugation of individual interests for the sake of society as a whole, but only when necessary. Of course, determining when such subjugation is necessary is not at all simple, and this is the task in which Mill distinguished himself as a philosopher. In his treatise on moral philosophy, "Utilitarianism," Mill proposed the "greatest-happiness principle" a sort of pseudo-mathematical, economic equation to determine the desirability
Then in May 2000, honey on sale in supermarkets was found to be contaminated with GM pollen from British crop trials. Two out of nine samples show contamination" (Chapman 2006:5). The results of an analysis by Fox (1999) confirmed this cross-contamination of pollen: "The pollen produced by these plants, carrying new genes, cannot be contained. As a result, genetic pollution of natural crop varieties and of wild plant relatives
Protection and preservation of the environment through increased yields and reduced use of chemical pesticides and herbicides. This is because genetically modified foods grow at a faster rate and in bigger quantities which means less forest land is cleared for agriculture and the natural habitats and biodiversity is preserved. The crops are also made pest and disease resistant which means that less pesticides and herbicides are used which could pollute
Genetically Modified Organisms Technology GMO Gentically Modified Organisms A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is any organism that has had its genetic makeup altered by humans Ahmed, 2002. The organism could be an animal, plant, or microorganism. The changing of the genetic code could involve subtracting, adding, or altering. All these changes could be from the same species or different species, which would give the organism characteristics that it does not have normally. GMO
' (EurActiv 2008) 'The traffic light Scheme was shown to be the most effective of by the FSA. What they also discovered was that consumers wanted product labeling; they liked separate information on 4 key nutrients that include fats, carbohydrates, proteins and salts and sugars.' (EurActiv, 2010) Consumers found traffic color coding easy to understand and use. As a result they wanted numerical information on amount of nutrients in a serving.
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