GMOs and Engineered Food

Glowing plants. Self-destructing mosquitoes. Frankenfish. There’s no denying that genetic engineering is a walk on the weird side. Yet genetically modified organisms are as common as corn, as routine as rice. They make farmers more productive and reduce the need for chemicals to control bugs. About 90 percent of corn, soybeans and cotton grown in the U.S. is engineered. GMOs are ingredients in 70 to 80 percent of America’s processed foods. Scientists and regulators broadly agree that GMO foods pose no more risk to health and the environment than ingredients developed through older breeding methods. Yet only 28 countries plant genetically engineered crops and a global battle rages over their future. The latest front: labeling.

GMO supporters point to a scientific consensus reflected in reports and statements from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the American Medical Association and even the European Commission, that GMOs pose no more risk than other crops. Nor is there doubt that they’ve cut insecticide use, reduced soil erosion, made farmers more efficient, and even saved Hawaiian papayas. Consumers remain leery nonetheless, not only of GMOs themselves but of their central place in industrial agriculture. Anti-corporate ideology plays a role, with Monsanto emerging as a bogeyman in popular culture. Weeds and pests targeted by engineered crops are genetically adapting themselves, with dismaying implications: Monsanto’s bug-killing corn is so widely used that the corn rootworm is developing resistance, requiring the use of more pesticides after years of decline. The food industry is divided. The Grocery Manufacturers Association and supporters spent $68 million on campaign advertising to defeat labeling referendums in California and Washington. The organic food industry, which has quadrupled its annual sales since 1999 to $80 billion globally, is a prime financial supporter of labeling efforts, anticipating more growth from frightened shoppers.