Pulcheria Chung, 18 St Mary's Canossian College
No. There are simply too many complications involved. It would be very difficult to set a uniform standard that would be universally accepted by all countries, as some food items are exported. Different countries might have different standards.
Also, not all GM ingredients can be easily detected through tests - for example, oils and sugars.
It would cost a lot just to find new methods to detect GM ingredients. Farmers want to grow better crops to make a better living. Street vendors who buy and sell their fruit and vegetables at a low cost cannot possibly know if the produce they bought from wholesalers has been modified.
There is also a new technology that can disguise the fact that a certain food is GM. This is unfair to honest companies.
Labeling people amounts to discrimination. Labeling food is no different. Labeling gives consumers the impression that GM food might be harmful to their health, which turns them off such foods.
The problem is that most consumers do not have a clear idea of what GM technology is. Words on labels will only confuse them further and lead to prejudice against GM food.