Over the course of the semester, several of my classes have touched on enhanced labeling–labeling foods that tell how the whole product was made and what it contains. From this there could be many pros and cons for both the consumer and the producer. Due to there being full disclosure, consumers may be more trusting of the industry or the farmer, and thus may be more likely to buy it. There would also be more benefits, such as not having a reaction to something that’s potentially in the food (e.g. some gluten free foods contain up to 20% gluten). With this, there are also some negatives. The consumer may want to be ignorant and not know what is in their food, which this would overcome. Not only this but consumers may feel guilty about what is done to process that food (e.g. how much water and transportation is need) and thus also scare off the consumer due to the long label.

For the producer, there are several pros and cons as well. For one, this can enhance niche markets (e.g. how organic something is) or even create new ones (e.g. how environmentally friendly it is). It also but;ds trust between the company and the consumer by disclosing information, thus they may be able to sell more (make a larger profit). Sadly, there are also some cons, such as losing money if the consumer doesn’t like how the product is made or is scared off by the large label. Over all, no one could predict how the majority of the population would respond to enhanced labeling but I for one think it would be interesting to see.