--- title: It's Time to Require Labels for GMOs description: Menu changes at Chipotle are a sign of public unease about altered foods canonical: https://time.com/3853160/require-labels-for-gmos/ author: Marion Nestle article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-14T17:53:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:34.599Z article:section: Ideas og:title: It's Time to Require Labels for GMOs og:description: Menu changes at Chipotle are a sign og:url: https://time.com/3853160/require-labels-for-gmos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71f6cfbcaf757da9/6987ef3555a8594196a8a0a8/chipotle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Chipotle restaurant workers fill orders for customers on the day that the company announced it will only use non-GMO ingredients in its food on April 27, 2015 in Miami, Florida. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: It's Time to Require Labels for GMOs twitter:description: Menu changes at Chipotle are a sign twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71f6cfbcaf757da9/6987ef3555a8594196a8a0a8/chipotle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # It's Time to Require Labels for GMOs > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Should I Eat Corn? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Corn?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rxd9imtl.m3u8) (1:26)  _Published 2015-04-29. For something so delicious and easy to eat, corn comes with an impressive density of nutrients. Here's why all five health experts we asked are crazy for corn._ by [Marion Nestle](https://time.com/author/marion-nestle/) ## Marion Nestle May 14, 2015 5:53 PM UTC  Chipotle restaurant workers fill orders for customers on the day that the company announced it will only use non-GMO ingredients in its food on April 27, 2015 in Miami, Florida. Chipotle restaurant workers fill orders for customers on the day that the company announced it will only use non-GMO ingredients in its food on April 27, 2015 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle—Getty Images by [Marion Nestle](https://time.com/author/marion-nestle/) ## Marion Nestle May 14, 2015 5:53 PM UTC The decision by Chipotle to stop using genetically modified foods is only the latest examples of the effects of public concerns about technologically altered foods. This decisions was predictable: Once the industry convinced the Food and Drug Administration that GMOs should not be required to be labeled as such, public backlash was only a matter of time. I’m only surprised that it took 20 years to get to this point. I was a member of the FDA Food Advisory Committee when the agency first allowed GMOs in the food supply in 1994\. At the time, consumer surveys showed that about 90% of respondents wanted genetically modified foods to be labeled. Those of us who were consumer representatives on the committee argued that labeling was essential for public approval. Without labels, people might wonder what the industry was trying to hide and lose trust in the FDA. The precedent was there: The FDA required labeling of other processes, including “made from concentrate” and “irradiated.” Yet the FDA decided genetic modification was a process that needed no special labeling. The industry insisted that genetic modification was not “material” to food safety because DNA is DNA no matter where it comes from. Labels, the FDA said, could mislead the public into thinking genetically modified foods differed from conventional foods. But GMOs can be considered different—DNA transfers sometimes come from completely different organisms—and the public wants that information. The GMO controversy is in part a concern about food safety, but it is also about much more. Chipotle is responding to public unease about the safety of GMO crops, but it is also responding to unease about corporate control of the food supply, the lack of labeling transparency, and the millions of dollars spent by the industry and its trade associations to defeat GMO-labeling initiatives. The vast proliferation of products labeled “[GMO-free](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/31/business/gmo-labels-for-food-are-in-high-demand-but-provide-little-certainty.html)” show that there is demand for better standards of labeling. The details of proposed labeling initiatives are messy and complicated, but they are hardly impossible. Vermont’s passage of a GMO-labeling law is a harbinger of things to come. Whether this particular law [survives](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/07/judge-considers-halting-vermont-gmo-law/21422959/) court challenges is irrelevant. The Grocery Manufacturers Association has seen the writing on the wall and is now [lobbying](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/gmo-labeling-bill-101853.html) hard for a national GMO labeling act that will block states from passing their own laws. It would also like the national law to allow use of the word “[natural](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/15/gmo-labeling%5Fn%5F4591588.html)” in marketing GMOs. This is a mistake. Most Americans do not consider GMOs to be “natural,” just as they do not consider GMOs to be organic. If genetically modified foods are labeled, will people stop buying them? No doubt some will. Others won’t care. But this industry brought its present problems upon itself and now must face the consequences. Requiring labeling may come too late to resolve public concerns about GMOs, but it is a necessary first step in moving these discussions to a less contentious level. ## Transcript If you've ever said to yourself, corn tastes so good, how can it possibly be healthy? Well, I've got good news for you. Five out five of our experts give corn the thumbs up. Not only is corn fun to eat, but it comes with a lot of nutrients. A cup has 143 calories Five grams of protein and almost as much potassium as a small banana, but Joanne Slavin's favorite part of corn is all the fiber. There is something extra special about corn fiber. Corn According to her research, makes you feel fuller. Nina Plank says off the cob, corn is often bastardized beyond recognition. Instead, you should get fresher, frozen sweet corn, home popped popcorn, stoneground hulled yellow corn in the form of polenta or even cornbread. And tortilla chips for a treat. David Katz says to look for whole grain on the label, just as you would whole grain wheat. According to the research of Elsayed Abdelaal, corn is full of lutein and zeaxanthin, two compounds that have been linked to eye health and preventing cataracts. Richard Pratt researches maize, and feels so passionately about corn that he responded on vacation with an enthusiastic yes. Here's what he told me. 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