IntroductionGenetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is a growing problem especially with advances via the Monsanto lobby in Congress. There are several avenues Monsanto can take to generate an environment in the United States that supports GMO crops and GMO ingredients. They can alter the GMO food labeling bill and pressure farmers to adopt use of their patented seeds, among other actions. To thwart these efforts, the American public must act quickly. They must lobby the government against Monsanto and use the evidence from countries like India and Argentina where GMO crops grow, to demonstrate the deleterious effects of GMO.

Viable Solution

The first problem that must be solved is GMO and labeling. The GMO food labeling bill must allow clear labeling of GMO foods instead of the QR codes. A second problem is Monsanto itself. Monsanto’s power regarding seed patenting must be eliminated. India ruled Monsanto cannot patent cotton seeds and thus the company may leave India because of the ruling. The final problem to tackle to remove GMO from the United States is food quality. The United States needs to introduce higher food quality standards that will enable better health among its citizens and remove the grip Monsanto has on farmers through government subsidies and seed patents.

First Advantage

The GMO food labeling bill is a real step for the American government to combat GMO foods in the country. However, it is an uphill battle. “Many states have considered their own GMO regulation, with GM food labeling laws a particular focus. But, agribusinesses fought against mandatory labeling laws for GM foods-though 64 other countries around the world and 89 percent of American voters support it” (Walker, 2017, p. 93). Agribusinesses like Monsanto understand the power of an educated consumer and thus have attempted to thwart labeling...

However, the American public can fight this through education and understanding the use of GMO food labeling in other countries.
The GMO food labeling bill is like what many countries already have in place. If the American public wishes to convince Congress to keep the bill free from QR codes and instead have clear labeling, Americans must lobby and demonstrate the legislation passed in other countries like Austria and France. The fight for GMO food labeling must be presented with evidence from other countries to have any effect on changing the minds of Congress amidst powerful lobby groups and lobbyists like

Monsanto’s various hires:

Monsanto runs a well-greased lobbying shop. At a cost of $1.21 million last quarter, the effort is not lacking in people power for its work in the nation’s capital. In addition to seven registered staff lobbyists, Monsanto, on contract, is ready to deploy: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, the nation’s top lobbying firm. It has a contract valued at $50,000 per quarter with Monsanto for the services of registered lobbyist Brian Pomper, a foreign trade expert (Flynn, 2012).

Second Advantage

Other countries have fought and banned outright, the use of GMO foods and the growing of GM crops. As mentioned earlier, Austria is a big proponent of maintaining GMO foods out of the country along with France (Newton, 2014). As early as 2003, Austria and France joined a network to maintain GMOs out of their respective countries. “Ten European regions organize to form a network of GMO-free jurisdictions. They include France, Upper Austria, Italy, and Wales” (Newton, 2014, p. 65). They fought hard to maintain regions where no GMO foods would be grown or sold. This demonstrates the potentially damaging effects of GMO cultivation and GMO products.…