When eating any food product in the United States you have to put these wrong-doings out of your mind or you’ll have nothing left to eat. Is anything really organic? Is organic really safe? If a chicken is not kept in a cage that does not mean it’s roaming in the fields like Mother Nature intended. If a chicken is grain fed, that does not mean that those grains are not genetically modified or that the chicken is not injected with some sort of antibiotics. Every food in the United States seems to be processed or engineered in some way or another. For instance look at how many products have some version of corn in them, most versions being genetically enhanced versions of the vegetable. Chicken is just another thing to add to the list of genetically engineered foods we are eating.

The United States has exploited cheap labor from so many different groups of people over time. America has never really held open arms to anyone that it did not think it could take advantage of. In the past it was the Africans on the plantations, and the Eastern Europeans and children in the factories. Today it is the outsourced people of poorer countries, such as India, and also many immigrants, such as the legal and illegal immigrants from Spanish speaking countries. I knew that immigrants built this country and I now see how much they, whether they are legally here or not, still continue to keep it running. We were all immigrants or come from an immigrant family at one point, no matter how many generations back.

It’s disgusting to think how these workers are brought into the country with the government knowing, a lot of time even assisting in the infiltration of our border, and big business profiting but the workers do not get any rights for themselves. If the government helps to bring them here then they should help them out as well. The workers are in America illegally and therefore cannot fight to improve their situation, as they always have the fear of deportation looming over their head.

It’s been this way many years, that illegal immigrants have been the force behind making our food. I understand that illegal immigrants work in the factories doing all the work that a lot of Americans would be unwilling to do, under poor conditions, and for much less pay. I understand that if we paid the workers more then we would see that increase at the marketplace in terms of price. If I knew I was paying for food and not just genetically engineered ‘things,’ then I, personally, would not mind paying a little extra. Most people probably don’t share this sentiment as food can be a big expense for many families. Bigger is not always better, although we sometimes think it is. Just because you are getting more of something does not make it better, quantity is not more important than quality, especially when it can come to your health.

I don’t think the big businesses of genetically engineered food will change their ways to afford a healthier alternative to Americans. I’m pretty confident the profits of these food corporations are more important to them than the health and well-being of the American people. Not enough people know about genetically engineered food and its effect on health. Not many people are complaining. It’s cheaper, and a lot of people in America are convinced they cannot afford to change their diet. You cannot disband from your acquired culinary lifestyle and join the army against genetically engineered food if it is the only food that you can afford, or think you can afford, to buy, so the army against big business is that much weaker. Although an army of one can be strong, it is not necessarily strong enough to fight against something that has its roots so deep into our institution of government. The question the executives at these companies would ask would be, ‘why change something that is so profitable?,’ and honestly why would they?

I feel the same way as the workers in the book feel when the box of chicken is placed in front of them. Though I know how chicken is ‘made’, if I’m hungry and it’s in front of me I’m not going to avoid eating it, especially if it’s free. I’m in America. Really, what are my options? You want liberties that the United States provides, then, for now at least, you have to give up on tasting real food. It’s kind of like a give and take relationship; you just don’t realize what you’re giving up, unless you leave the country. My last job was as a flight attendant and I traveled all around the world and the thing I loved the most was being able to taste food. Being able to taste real, natural food is an amazing experience that a lot of Americans do not even realize they are missing. Here in America though, I feel like I do not have that option.

I think that because food is cheaper now than it has been in the past, because of genetic engineering, this makes people eat more than they need, which would account for our rising obesity rates within the country. When I visited another country for the first time and went to a restaurant in Paris, I was disappointed at my portion size. The plate came and I thought ‘where’s the rest of it?’. I was surprised though because this little plate of food was so flavorful and filled me much more than if I ate a lot more, of the same type of food, at home in America. It was the perfect portion. When I came home I tried to do the same thing, with portion size, but the food, no matter how much I ate, was not satisfying like it was in France.

We read this book about the chicken industry and how horrible the food is and how it’s genetically engineered and the only thing I can think of right now is the fact that I want chicken fingers. If chicken is this tasteless thing and it’s so horrible for me to eat the chicken from America, then why am I craving it? Even knowing all the bad things that go into chicken and all the bad things that happen behind the scenes, I just want some chicken. I eat chicken in my house at least 6 times a week. I know I can survive without chicken and that there are plenty of other types of food that I can choose to eat but, if I’m in America and, they’re all genetically engineered anyway, why can’t I just eat my chicken?

Scientists favoring genetic engineering claim there is no scientific evidence that “superpests” or “superweeds” could occur through GE foods. Insects and weeds naturally develop resistance to chemicals in their environment. Biotechnology can better manage this evolution in resistance. There are already systems in place-crop rotation, hybrid rotation, and insect resistance management-that help prevent resistance from developing. With regard to insects developing resistance to Bt crops, supporters point to the practice of insect resistance management (IRM). This is a practice in which growers plant non-Bt crops near the genetically modified resistant plants. Pests infecting these non-Bt plants will not develop Bt resistance and will breed with their counterparts in the Bt crop fields, which will lessen the chances of the development of resistance. Proponents argue that research demonstrating the possibility of resistance has been done in the laboratory, and thus may not be applicable to the natural environment.

• Has there been an increase in any naturally occurring toxins in the plant?
• Has an allergen not commonly found in the plant been introduced?
• Has there been a change in the levels of any important nutrients?
• Have new substances that raise safety questions been introduced into the food?
• Are there any negative environmental effects?
• Have accepted, established scientific procedures been followed?

Calgene’s FlavrSavr tomato, one of the very first food biotechnology products to come under FDA regulation, is a good example. An antibiotic marker used in the genetic engineering of the tomato produced very small amounts of a protein not normally found in tomatoes. FDA viewed this new protein as a food additive since it was a substance new to tomatoes, and regulated it as such. In part because of strong public input from public outreach meetings in 1999, FDA plans to strengthen its pre-market review of genetically engineered foods.

Current U.S. labeling laws require foods produced through biotechnology to have labels stating such if a known food allergen has been introduced, the nutritional content of the food has been changed, or the product’s composition has been substantially altered. To protect consumers who have food allergies, products must belabeled if they contain any of the eight most common food allergens-milk, eggs, wheat, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, and soy. FDA evaluates all new food products, biotech products, and traditional products for the presence of these allergens. The primary agency responsible for biotechnology in the U.S. Department of Agriculture is the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). APHIS governs the field testing of agricultural biotechnology crops. APHIS determines whether genetically engineered plants are safe to grow. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as the federal agency that regulates pesticides, has jurisdiction over biotechnology plants that produce pesticides to protect themselves from insects and other pests. EPA determines whether genetically engineered plants are safe for the environment. In 1996 EPA approved the use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which is regulated as a pesticide since it controls pests.