BAMCO: Why We Support Labeling GMOs

By Elizabeth Sullivan of the Bon Appétit Management Company

Most people — regardless of how you feel personally about transgenic, or genetically engineered (GE), foods —  would agree that we all have a right to make informed choices. Polls show that the majority of Americans (some surveys say up to 90%) believe foods containing GE ingredients should be labeled as such, as manufacturers do in Europe.

Bon Appétit agrees, and that’s why we support the Just Label It campaign to petition the Food and Drug Administration to require labeling of food containing genetically engineered ingredients. The Just Label It site defines genetically modified organisms as “plants and animals that have had their genetic makeup altered to exhibit traits that are not naturally theirs. These techniques use DNA molecules from different sources, sometimes different species, and combine them into one molecule to create a new set of genes (e.g. mixing of flounder genes into tomatoes so the tomatoes would be resistant to cold temperatures.)” It also contains a roundup of current science about GE food and many resources for taking action.

The debate about the benefits and risks of GE foods promises to be a long one, but in the interim, we believe consumers have the right to know what we’re eating. The Just Label It campaign has a goal of reaching half a million signatures by January 1 – and it has only 100,000 left to go!

If you want to support the effort to require GE-labeling, please sign the petition at Just Label It.

This article was originally published on the Bon Appétit Management Company (BAMCO) blog. BAMCO is an onsite restaurant company providing café and catering services to corporations, colleges and universities, and specialty venues.