GMO Food Products

BogQueen1

I am currently working on my MBA. We have to take many classes on ethics. Open the Wal Street journal sometime and you will see my compelling reason to believe that the second statement is more accurate the the first. Every corporation out there, if given a chance, will take a short cut in order to increase profits, regardless of who it hurts, who it steps on, or what the long term implications of that are. It's basic finance 101. A dollar earned today is worth more then a dollar earned 10 years from now. The basic definition of a coporation includes 'increasing value to shareholders' which has been taken to mean increasing the bottom line. It's what they do. It's the reason for their existence. Profit, pure and simple. How many companies took short cuts on waste disposal of toxic byproducts of manufacturing and poisoned our environment? How many people lost their entire retirement when Enron decided to take shortcuts with their accounting and got busted for it? The responsible corporation is a rarity. Even the darling of wall street, Apple, was revealed to have taken 'short cuts' and produces their product overseas, paying sub par wages.

I do not need to open the Wall Street Journal. I am a researcher at such a company. I can assure you, whether you believe it or not, that myself and every single person I work with or have interacted with, genuinely wants to deliver a product that is beneficial to society. The cost and profit of it all? I leave that up to the MBA's and business folk.

Interestingly the only people who are defending the GMO companies are mostly researchers working for those companies, and from your comment I assume that you work at a company that does genetic modifications on plants. While it is admirable that you believe your ultimate goal is to benefit society, may I bring up the allegorical 'road to hell' which is paved with good intentions. Just because all you wanted to do was help someone out, this does not mean that your ultimate results will end up being beneficial.

Acg67

People simply don't care what is put into their food. If people actually woke up then they would have to realize that the packaged, boxed and frozen foods they eat are actually killing them and they don't care.

Maybe they shouldn't try eating the packing and they wouldn't choke to death

PaleoPath4Lyfe

GMO was introduced into our food supply where I live without consumers knowing or getting to choose. Most people, when the learn about this, do not like it. Including myself. Other countries reject the products, and that is noteworthy in itself. I would like GMO products to be labeled, as I would never choose to purchase them if labeled. Hence, the whole GMO controversy is that the genetic modifications are for the sole purpose of making some corporation some extra money.

Right and if GMO's are so safe, why did these companies fight the labelling process so that people are informed consumers? There was BIG money put up by Monsanto and many other companies to ensure that Prop 37 did not pass in California. They knew if it passed in 1 state that many other states would follow suit.

They don't want people to know. What are they hiding?

hikeout470

It is not really about you being a good or bad person, we did not ask for GMO's and are shocked at the ability of your "money" to allow them into our food supply without us getting to have an opinion. Nice HIJACK. We as a country do not want GMO's!

PRMinx

It is not really about you being a good or bad person, we did not ask for GMO's and are shocked at the ability of your "money" to allow them into our food supply without us getting to have an opinion. Nice HIJACK. We as a country do not want GMO's!

Who are you talking to?

Acg67

GMO was introduced into our food supply where I live without consumers knowing or getting to choose. Most people, when the learn about this, do not like it. Including myself. Other countries reject the products, and that is noteworthy in itself. I would like GMO products to be labeled, as I would never choose to purchase them if labeled. Hence, the whole GMO controversy is that the genetic modifications are for the sole purpose of making some corporation some extra money.

Right and if GMO's are so safe, why did these companies fight the labelling process so that people are informed consumers? There was BIG money put up by Monsanto and many other companies to ensure that Prop 37 did not pass in California. They knew if it passed in 1 state that many other states would follow suit.

They don't want people to know. What are they hiding?

Strong logic is strong

auroranflash

GMO was introduced into our food supply where I live without consumers knowing or getting to choose. Most people, when the learn about this, do not like it. Including myself. Other countries reject the products, and that is noteworthy in itself. I would like GMO products to be labeled, as I would never choose to purchase them if labeled. Hence, the whole GMO controversy is that the genetic modifications are for the sole purpose of making some corporation some extra money.

Right and if GMO's are so safe, why did these companies fight the labelling process so that people are informed consumers? There was BIG money put up by Monsanto and many other companies to ensure that Prop 37 did not pass in California. They knew if it passed in 1 state that many other states would follow suit.

They don't want people to know. What are they hiding?

Because people who would fearmonger and oversensationalize it, the label would get a stigma and the company would go out of business due to paranoia about the safety of the product, regardless of any actual study or negative reaction.

rml_16

It is not really about you being a good or bad person, we did not ask for GMO's and are shocked at the ability of your "money" to allow them into our food supply without us getting to have an opinion. Nice HIJACK. We as a country do not want GMO's!

Who are you talking to?

I think the voices in her head. It may be medication time.

BogQueen1

Perhaps some of us would like to believe we can change things from the inside at that businesses need to have an influx of rational minded, ethical people. We even discussed in class one time that there's a calculated risk between doing something illegal and making a profit versus the costs you will incur should you get caught. I didn't say I agreed with everything I was learning, and that is taken heavily out of context, so please do not think I attend a school that is encouraging unethical behavior, because they aren't, we went on to discuss the social implications of such actions, to show that regardless of the bottom dollar the costs on society are too high. Discussions on corporate responsibility and things like that. But in simple numbers game? Sometimes a desperate CEO can make a poor decision to boost the stock price.

Oh here we go with the businesses are evil claim....

Like anything in life, there are good businesses and there are bad businesses. For every business that has acted unethically, I bet you could find 3 that have done something awesome. What we read in the news, or learn in the classroom, are sensational cases. Why? The media needs to entertain and teachers need an extreme example to clearly teach a lesson.

With all due respect, do you think you are the only person in the world who decided to get into business to "change things"? I take offense to that. There are a lot of good, honest, hardworking, smart and ethical people with MBAs already making a run at it. And, as a result, there are a lot of good companies. Good for you for getting your MBA to do something good - but lets not disparage the good ones who already have skin in the game.

I never said I was the only person was was good, ethical, honest or any of those things and to infer that from my post is a bit of a conceit on your part. I never said there weren't good companies out there, as there are plenty, but to say that all we hear about are the few extreme cases? I think that's naive. If Worldcom's scandal was just an isolated incident, why did it bring down a whole public accounting firm with it?

And before you think I'm some idealistic college student who's never put a foot in the real world, I'm a part time MBA/full time working stiff. So I already have, as you put, 'skin in the game'.

MirinSerratus

To long didnt read...

PaleoPath4Lyfe

GMO has been going on my 1000's of years. Selective breeding is a form of GMO. Best believe that apple you are eating today in no way reflects when was eaten 3000 years ago.

Genetic Modification is NOT the same as selective breeding.

denoting or derived from an organism whose DNA has been altered for the purpose of improvement or correction of defects

Hmm sounds like selective breeding fits that term.

Selective breeding uses natural biological means to alter genetics--example is using a pollen from one strain to fertilize another strain and so "cross" the gene pools.

Genetic engineering artificially goes into the chromosomes to edit them--an unnatural process. Example--a cold water fish gene is put into a crop so that it won't freeze in the winter. This would not naturally occur.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

GMO was introduced into our food supply where I live without consumers knowing or getting to choose. Most people, when the learn about this, do not like it. Including myself. Other countries reject the products, and that is noteworthy in itself. I would like GMO products to be labeled, as I would never choose to purchase them if labeled. Hence, the whole GMO controversy is that the genetic modifications are for the sole purpose of making some corporation some extra money.

Right and if GMO's are so safe, why did these companies fight the labelling process so that people are informed consumers? There was BIG money put up by Monsanto and many other companies to ensure that Prop 37 did not pass in California. They knew if it passed in 1 state that many other states would follow suit.

They don't want people to know. What are they hiding?

Because people who would fearmonger and oversensationalize it, the label would get a stigma and the company would go out of business due to paranoia about the safety of the product, regardless of any actual study or negative reaction.

I say GOOD. Put them all out of business. We don't need to eat that junk anyway.

PRMinx

I never said I was the only person was was good, ethical, honest or any of those things and to infer that from my post is a bit of a conceit on your part. I never said there weren't good companies out there, as there are plenty, but to say that all we hear about are the few extreme cases? I think that's naive. If Worldcom's scandal was just an isolated incident, why did it bring down a whole public accounting firm with it?

And before you think I'm some idealistic college student who's never put a foot in the real world, I'm a part time MBA/full time working stiff. So I already have, as you put, 'skin in the game'.

Good for you! Me too. Your post came off as holier than thou. Sorry, it just did. I'm not sure how my post makes me sound conceited at all - I never said I was better than anyone. And I'm definitely not naive. The Worldcom situation was awful. But it involved a handful of companies. There are literally hundreds of thousands of businesses of all sizes in the U.S. To extract one extreme example of deceit and say that it is common practice among all business, or even many businesses, is just wrong.

ArroganceInStep

I say GOOD. Put them all out of business. We don't need to eat that junk anyway.

We should put all automobile manufacturer's out of business too!
And weapons companies!
In fact, any object that has ever killed anyone...ever...bam! bankrupt the company!

hikeout470

Hey thanks! So it is the chemists that have control over the board. Good to know for future. BTW, you do not "get to mess with" anybody in my industry, we have fairly thick skins, so sorry for you!

testease

GMO was introduced into our food supply where I live without consumers knowing or getting to choose. Most people, when the learn about this, do not like it. Including myself. Other countries reject the products, and that is noteworthy in itself. I would like GMO products to be labeled, as I would never choose to purchase them if labeled. Hence, the whole GMO controversy is that the genetic modifications are for the sole purpose of making some corporation some extra money.

Right and if GMO's are so safe, why did these companies fight the labelling process so that people are informed consumers? There was BIG money put up by Monsanto and many other companies to ensure that Prop 37 did not pass in California. They knew if it passed in 1 state that many other states would follow suit.

They don't want people to know. What are they hiding?

Because people who would fearmonger and oversensationalize it, the label would get a stigma and the company would go out of business due to paranoia about the safety of the product, regardless of any actual study or negative reaction.

I say GOOD. Put them all out of business. We don't need to eat that junk anyway.

Were you abused by food growing up? You seem to have some very deep seated issues with it. All this undo stress in your life will probably kill you faster then these evil GMOs.

Stay stafe.

Onesnap

not sure if someone else mentioned it but see the documentary 'King Corn'

And 'Food Inc.'

And 'Forks over Knives'

And read 'Eating Animals'

And read 'Animal Vegetable Miracle'

That is all. Stay educated.

PRMinx

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Most definitely not a chemist.

sunsnstatheart

[walking back in door] So, how's everyone doing? Ready for that group hug?!

So anyone watch the VS show the other night. Loved it! Oh. Yea. GMO? Really? Nevermind.

[Slams door]

auroranflash

I say GOOD. Put them all out of business. We don't need to eat that junk anyway.

So it's not "take it off the market until they can find a way to make sure it is 100% safe through years of (additional) intensive R&D", it's "destroy it entirely"?