GMO: Yes or No?

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," laments Juliet to her forlorn lover in Shakespeare's famous play. As ahead of his time as he was, the Bard probably didn't know that he was bang on when it comes to genetically modified roses - or any other plant.

Genetically Modified Organisms are bacteria, yeast, plants, fish and even mammals that have had their genetics meddled with by scientists. Commonly known by the acronym GMO, these are the building blocks of genetically engineered foods. And they have been getting a lot of attention lately in California.

Educated eaters in the west coast state have decided they have a right to know if the food they buy contains GMOs. Their movement has led to Proposition 37, a genetically engineered foods labeling statute that will appear on the California ballot next month.

"We already have food labels showing nutrition, allergy information and other facts consumers want to know. This measure simply adds information telling us if food is produced using genetic engineering," a spokesperson for the Yes on 37 campaign group told the BBC.

Considering over 50 other countries require such labeling, this isn't such a ridiculous request. But if you ask the No on 37 activists, they beg to differ. According to them, such labeling would be "misleading."

"Prop 37 is a deceptive, deeply flawed food labeling scheme," says the Get the Facts section of their website. If passed, they say the statute "would ban the sale of tens of thousands of perfectly-safe, common grocery products only in California unless they are specially repackaged, relabeled or made with higher cost ingredients."

Indeed, if a label requirement such as this were passed in California, other states would have to comply with the new law to export there. That means it would have nationwide effects. And at the end of the day, we've already been eating GMO foods, so why make changes that would result in a higher cost for producers and consumers alike?

On the one hand, there are benefits to GMOs. They grow faster, require less pesticides and herbicides and can result in higher yields, which can mean big bucks for farmers. But, the impact they have on the humans that consume them isn't exactly clear.

GMOs are relatively new, and so is the research into their effects. While this fact alone has European eaters on the fence (GMO crops and imports are tightly regulated, if accepted at all), those in the States are of the view the food is safe.

The two sides to the GMO coin is exactly what has supporters on the defense, especially the biotechnology companies that produce them. They are concerned consumers will shy away from their foods out of fear.

Whether it's a well-founded worry or not, that attitude doesn't seem to address the root of this movement - the right to know. If my favorite lunchtime treat or bag of chips has GMO ingredients, I'll probably still stuff my face. And, I'd venture to guess I'm not the only one. But, at least we'd know what we're filling our mouths with.