December 4, 2008

The underlying facts of food production and how they affect the final consumer




It is certain that many people do not seem to worry so much about what they eat, let alone to know the process of how food is brought to them. Why does this happen? A possible explanation would be the fact that not necessarily is there any kind of lack of information; on the contrary, there seems to be just too much information, which can be confusing, many times. Also, knowledge - and here we are not talking about food only - depends on cultural issues that vary from place to place. For example, the average Brazilian consumer does not normally read about the food products he or she buys; be it in the label of the products, be it wherever the information is available. Instead, they are more worried about food facts such as calories or quantities of fat. On the other hand, in the USA, most people are more concerned about the source of the food they eat, as they seem to greatly care about if it is organic or not. This could be explained partly because, in Brazil, there is no significant number of “organic supermarkets”. But here we go: are people really benefitting from organic products?

The question above brings us to a current discussion on how people have been fed. From the past years to now, it wasn’t like it is today when it comes to food security. People live longer today than in the past decades, and that is because of the biotechnology that has been used. So, why do some ONGs always criticize biotechnology? The answer is: because there is a great deal of interests behind the “ecologic way of living”. I don’t know why some people insist on saying that organic vegetables do not contain any kind of chemicals. It´s not true. Almost every producer of organic horticulture needs to use an organic fungicide called “yard”, which is made from copper sulphate and limestone. But, how can they call this fungicide organic if the main ingredients are inorganic? So that’s where most consumers don’t have the real information. Of course that there are some producers who are 100% organic, but it is really hard to have good yields without the usage of any kind of pest control in Brazil.

It´s hard to believe in how some ONGs could transform the biotechnology in GMO into a scary topic. It is confirmed that most transgenic DNA can´t cause any damage to the human health. On the other hand, it can bring benefits such as more concentrated types of vitamins and proteins. In Brazil, it is established by law that every vegetable oil made of genetically modified soybean needs to contain the letter “T” in a yellow triangle label indicating that the product is from transgenic sources. Nevertheless, this is completely wrong because no type of vegetable oil contains any kind of protein and aminoacids, so there is no need for such precautions.

Maybe it’s time people knew more about the food they buy and eat, without being kept in the dark nor seeming dumb either. Anyway, whose initiative would that be?

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