Do consumers have the right to know if their food has been genetically engineered?

Round three of St Aidan’s College asignments, but comments from all are welcome  

Labelling of GM foods has produced some heated and passionate debate, but is there more at stake that just consumer choice?
 
GM food has produced some extreme views from some passionate people – from both sides of the debate.  The trouble is that it’s often only these extreme views we hear or read about. Labelling of GM food has been one of the key elements in this debate and the arguments are economic, human health, agronomic, scientific, political and social – ie complex and a lot for anyone to get their head around.
 
So, how do we know if our food or the ingredients in it have been genetically engineered when wandering the supermarket or scoffing down a family size pizza? 
 
I guess the first question is what is the law regarding labelling of genetically modified food or ingredients at the moment. For that, you need to check out the Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s web site. These guys are responsible for assessing all food (including GM) for health and human safety before it can be sold.
 
In a nutshell, however, all GM foods or foods containing GM ingredients are required by law to be labelled as such, even if on display in a deli fridge or whole fruit/vege. But there are some exemptions such as highly processed foods (eg, cooking oils), and processing agents (eg enzymes) that don’t end up in the final food product.  You will need to read the stuff on FSANZ web site for all the details to get your head around it properly.
Full details here http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodmatters/gmfoods/index.cfm
 
This site will also outline how FSANZ assess each GM food for health and human safety before it is allowed to be sold as well as what and why stuff is or isn’t labeled. 
 
Obviously, not everyone agrees with how FSANZ assesse a GM food, or their labeling laws, otherwise you wouldn’t have this as an assignment question.
 
So, your question is really do we have a right to know about the stuff that isn’t labelled?
 
What are the reasons for it currently being exempt and are these reasons acceptable? 
 
Why do we label food in the first place?  What do we mean by “a right to know” when it comes to labeling of GM food?  Is it simply consumer choice, or something more?
 
Greenpeace is one group that disagree with Australia’s labeling laws (and anything to do with GM crops and foods altogether).
 
What other stuff isn’t labeled or specifically declared about a food.  That is, what other stuff do you think we should know about, but are not made aware of when in the process of purchasing our food?
 
For example, acrylamides are a potential carcinogen and it is found in nearly all baked and fried foods (breads, biscuits roasted meats, nuts, etc). Such information isn’t found on labels. Should it be? Do we, as consumers, have a right to know if our foods are likely to contain these potentially dangerous compounds.  If so, where do how far do we go, how much info do we want and are we going to read it? 
 
How much risk are we prepared to accept when it comes to our food?
 
I heard an interesting analogy on the ABC radio the other day (yeh I know old person’s radio) about food labelling in general:  It is like the art gallery. We all want it there, appreciate its presence in society, but hardly, if ever, visit it.  So too with food labels: we want the info there, but hardly ever read it.  Research has actually shown this to be the case.
 
Some groups are also calling for labelling of meat that, when still frolicking in the paddock, ate grain or grass that was genetically modified.  How far should we go with labeling?
 
What about the cost of labelling these exempt GM foods? Is the cost worth it?  Is the cost real?
 
Who is saying what in this labelling debate and what is there agenda?
 
Have a look at some of the other stuff I have posted on the GNTIS web site and blog about GM foods to give you a bit of context to the wider debate.
 
And just for the record, when I am not listening to the ABC, I listen to Triple J.
 
Jason Major
Manager, GNTIS