Question

to label or not to label: california prepares to vote on genetically engineered foods although campaigns for and against ge genetically engineered foods in california are focusing heavily on economic impacts, the real debate revolves around a scientific question: are these foods truly safe or not? i seek in this essay to say that most scientists think the techniques that are used to create ge plants are not inherently dangerous, says peggy lemaux, a cooperative - extension specialist in the plant and microbial biology department at the university of california, berkeley. in 2010, the european commission released an analysis of 50 studies conducted on ge foods over the last 25 years and concluded that the technologies posed no greater risks than conventional breeding technology. the reason i dont worry about ge genetically modified foods is not because someone has presented me with a big study that theyre safe, says michael eisen, an associate professor of molecular biology at the howard hughes medical institute at the university of california, berkeley, and an investigator with the howard hughes medical institute. its because when i look at the technology, i understand what the technology is doing. theyre introducing proteins that have been very well - characterized into plants, and i dont see any reason at all to suspect that these are harmful. some scientists, however, believe questions about the safety of ge foods are far from answered. doug gurian - sherman, senior scientist with the food and environment program at the union of concerned scientists, says the question is not whether theres risk involved in ge foods, but whether its greater than risks posed by conventional foods. because of the greater capacity to bring unknown quantities into the food supply, im of the school that says it has potential higher potential for risk, he says. other scientists say no. but i dont think its a settled debate. harvard researchers claim that theres no evidence of harm from ge foods by saying, thats just not true. i can show you all kinds of studies in the scientific literature that have raised red flags that need to be followed up on, in one such study, investigators reviewed 19 studies of mammals that ge soybeans and maize. they found that several convergent data appear to indicate liver and kidney problems as well as points of gmo diet effects, with the kidneys more affected in males and the liver more affected in females. the authors, noting the limitations of the 20 - and 90 - day assays they reviewed, pointed out that chronic toxicity testing is not required for ge foods, but that it should be. select the correct answer. which description provides the best objective summary of the article in the passage? a. the purpose of the article is to tilt the readers opinion against food labeling for genetically engineered food. it presents expert opinion to support the claim that genetically engineered foods are safe and dismisses the opposing arguments. b. the purpose of the article is to tilt the readers opinion in favor of food labeling for genetically engineered food. it relies on claims that genetically engineered foods are unsafe by using expert opinion to support the opposite claim. c. the article presents a balanced view of the debate about labeling genetically engineered foods. it examines claims to the contrary that genetically engineered foods are as safe as organic foods and then examines claims to the contrary. d. the article presents a balanced view of the debate about labeling genetically engineered foods. its purpose is to demonstrate fallacies in different arguments for and against the claim that genetically engineered foods are safe

Explanation:

The article presents different viewpoints on the debate about labeling genetically - engineered foods. It doesn't take a one - sided stance but shows both sides of the argument, which indicates a balanced view.

Answer:

C. The article presents a balanced view of the debate about labeling genetically engineered foods. It examines the claim that genetically engineered foods are safe as well as organic foods and then examines claims to the contrary.