Enforce GMO Labeling!

Advocates of requiring labels of genetically modified ingredients in food have unfortunately been defeated time and time again.  Opposing sides such as companies like Monsanto, have been pressing Congress for a federal law that will confiscate states efforts. In 2013 President Barack Obama signed the HR 933 spending bill. This bill restrains federal courts from stopping the sale as well as halting the seeds being planted of GMO's.  This means that if someday we find out GMO's are extremely hazardous, there is nothing they can really do.  Labels that show whether certian foods contain GMO's should be required. In order to understand why labels should be required first we must understand what GMO's really are.

A Genetically Modified Orgasim, (GMO) is a plant or meat product that has had its DNA artificially altered by other plants or animals to produce foreign compounds. GMO's are generally used for resistance to herbicides and pesticides.  For example, you plant a crop containing GMO's, and weeds and certain bugs will be resistant to it.  They also can increase the production of certain valuable goods such as crops, by allowing the crops to thrive in environmental conditions that it's not used to, or outside of its species. This genetic alteration is experimental and cannot occur naturally. According to the Non GMO Project, 80% of conventional processed foods contain GMO's. Does this mean we should be worried?

Although there are some benefits with using GMO's, there are many risks.  Unfortunately, there has been no long term studies on the safety and effects of the genetically altered foods on humans. There have been some ideas floating around that they can cause allergies and even have negative impacts on the digestive tract.  The effects on human health is virtually unknown. There are also environmental hazards associated with the use of GMO's. According to an article written by Deborah B. Whitman, a study has shown that the pollen from B.t corn has caused high mortality rates for monarch butterfly
caterpillars. This is just one example that GMO's can be harmful to the preservation of certain species.

 Another concern to be made is the cross breeding of different species.  If a genetically modified crop that's engineered for herbicide resistance cross breeds with weeds, the transfer between the genes can result in unwanted super weeds that would then contain herbicide tolerance. GMO's also raise a big concern for farmers, especially if they aren't labeled, because the buyer will be unaware of which product actually contains GMO's.

What needs to happen, is the labeling of all products containing GMO's. Why? First of all, because we need to know. Just like the nutrition facts labeled on the back of products, we need a line that tells us whether the products contain GMO's.

It is our right to know what is being put into our bodies.  GMO's have not been proven safe, and the long term health risks are unknown.  Labeling GMO's will support local agriculure by allowing the consumers to make informed choices on the products they wish to buy.  Most of the world already requires the labeling of GMO's.  In an article written by Niraj Choskshi, it explains how Oregan will only be the second state to have GMO label laws.  As you can see in the figure below, most of the world requires this law.  We need to wake up! It is time for our country to enforce the labeling of GMO's on our products. It is our right to know.

 

Will Raising Minimum Wage Really Help Our Society?

On Friday, October 31, 2014 Ariel Tellez posted an article to her blog called Minimum Wage:  Why can't I live comfortably too? A topic that is often put into question,  she discusses it from her own point of view.

Her first argument mentioned is that everyone should be able to support themselves.  Then she goes into further detail by explaining her own experience of how living off of less than eight dollars an hour will not support you while paying rent, and how extremely hard it is.  Later on she presents an argument from the other point of view stating that many people think the starting minimum wage is only for high-school students who just started working and how that's not the case.  She gives a statistic that 80% of these people are twenty or older.  She argues that this topic is often put down, and now is the time to start discussing this problem.

I completely understand the argument that is displayed here.  It is most definitely hard to live off of minimum wage...  Especially when your trying to support a family or while you're in college paying tuition and rent.  But the real question here is how can this be solved?  I don't think raising the minimum wage will benefit the way our economy works in a positive way.  I believe the outcomes could be worse than the problems we are facing now.  I understand that living off of minimum wage can be extremely difficult, but I don't think raising it will help.  It could help certain people individually, but if you look at the big picture, it can be frightening.

To understand this, first you must look at the solutions to solving minimum wage.  There are ideas on tightening our borders and restricting immigration.  This will give us the opportunity to raise minimum wage, unfortunately our country wouldn't exactly be known for being the free country where people can come in, work hard, and live freely.  Instead we would be blocking people from
coming who are escaping life threatening situations, and poverty that no one here in America can truly understand.  Some people  believe that we should simply just raise the minimum wage and that it will have a positive outcome.  According to an article by Andrew F. Puzder, that is not the case.  Puzder explains that by raising the minimum wage, significantly, millions of Americans will experience the loss of job opportunities.  By raising minimum wage large business corporations may have to start laying off more people.

Later on she mentions, "It's near impossible to get a good paying job without a degree or some sort of earned trade."  According to George Leef the benefits of going to college is not as Valuable in today's time.  I do believe that everyone should try and get get a degree, it would be false to say that there aren't any benefits of going to college.  In another mindset, there are people who become extremely successful who don't obtain a degree.  In fact when you go back to what Puzder was saying, most people who have a degree, still get paid the minimum wage.  I believe there are so many problems with this issue.

Unfortunately, I don't see how this problem can be fixed in a way that will truly be beneficial.  By the facts I've gathered, I'm going to have to be against the idea of raising the minimum wage.  In my opinion, it could cause more harm than good.  Despite my opinions I am very interested in new solutions to solving this issue, but I have not come across one that will benefit our economy that does not degrade it.