In 49 countries around the world, including all of Europe, people have the opportunity of knowing whether or not they are eating food which contains genetically engineered ingredients. In the United States, we don't.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
If food is labeled, some people might choose to eat stuff that's genetically modified. They might decide they love it. But give us a choice.
The industry's not stupid. The industry knows that if those foods are labeled 'genetically engineered', the public will shy away and won't take them.
GMOs play a central role in meeting the challenge of providing affordable and nutritious food to consumers all over the world.
To reap the benefits of GMO technology, the U.S. must ensure that decisions about our food system are made based on science, not innuendo.
There are GMO skeptics more in Europe maybe than in other places, but not exclusively.
What's disgusting about genetic modification of food? I speculate that many people have an immediate, intuitive sense that what's healthy is what's 'natural,' and that efforts to tamper with nature will inevitably unleash serious risks - so-called Frankenfoods. The problem with that speculation is that it's flat-out wrong.
Over time, yes, countries will need to look at specific GMO products like they look at drugs today, where they don't approve them all. They look hard at the safety and the testing. And they make sure that the benefits far outweigh any of the downsides.
All the food we eat - every grain of rice and kernel of corn - has been genetically modified. None of it was here before mankind learned to cultivate crops. The question isn't whether our food has been modified, but how.
Genetically modified foods are good.
For consumers, the lesson is simple: Genetically modified foods are safe to eat.