GMOs Are Unlabeled and Impossible to Avoid
It is true that the federal government doesn’t require food from animals that have been raised on feed from GMO plants to be labeled. However, in June 2013, the U.S. Department of…
Almost All Crops Today Are GMOs
It is true that since GMOs were introduced in the 1980s, people in the U.S. have consumed a lot more of them. By one estimate, 70 percent of processed foods in the…
GMO Crops Cause Catastrophic Honeybee Decline
This seems to be a case of guilt by association. Between 2008 and 2013, 30 percent of bees in the U.S. have either disappeared or failed to pollinate blossoms in the spring.…
If Patented GMO Seeds Accidentally Grow on Your Property, You Could Be Sued
Like many of the fears about GMOs, this is one that has a germ of truth in it. In 1999, agribusiness giant Monsanto sued a Canadian organic canola farmer, Percy Schmeiser, for…
Altered Genes From GMO Plants Invariably Will Spread and Cause Havoc
It’s possible to conjure up all sorts of terrifying scenarios. What if a GMO gene that causes resistance to antibiotics somehow is transferred from a food into pathogenic bacteria in your gastrointestinal…
GMO Crops Pose a Health Risk to People With Allergies
This was one of the first big fears that people had about GMOs. If you know that you’re deathly allergic to peanuts, you’ll probably stay away from peanut butter. But if a…
GMO Crops Are Dangerous Since They Contain Toxic Substances
Some GMOs — for example, a variety called Bt corn — actually do contain a pest-killing toxin. That may sound pretty dangerous, until you stop to consider that unlike, say, chemical insecticides…
There’s Solid Evidence That GMO Foods Cause Cancer
Not exactly. A 2012 French study found that rats fed a lifetime diet of genetically modified corn that made it resistant to the herbicide Roundup— or else given water containing Roundup —…
Genetic Modification of Food Is New
Well, yes and no. It’s true that traditional breeding, purposely growing plants or crossbreeding them for certain characteristics, can be a messy business. Since plants often exchange large, unregulated chunks of their…
GM crops are vital to achieving food security.
Agro-ecological farming is the key to food security, according to 400 scientists and experts from 80 countries, a position endorsed by 62 governments worldwide. Their report, the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge,…
