In the 20th Century, a new food was introduced to the human diet. Grown by farmers in New Zealand without pre-market oversight, this food is now in everything from pie to natural food flavorings. Some people even eat it raw.
We don’t know what the long-term effects of eating this food are: It was only first cultivated in the U.S. in the 1960s, and no long-term pre-market feeding tests were done. Some people became allergic to this new food, but producers still insist that it is “natural” and “safe.”
I’m not describing some “Frankenfood,” but the kiwi fruit (which can be grown organically!). Kiwis, like other food crops, didn’t exist in their present form in nature; the ancestral gooseberry was an unpalatable albeit edible fruit from China. Human intervention through selective breeding created a wholly new food, easily distinguished from its natural ancestor. And while a small number of people may have reactions to the food, the overwhelming majority of people get to enjoy a new taste previously unknown to humankind.
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But what about the scientific genetic engineering processes West Virginia is proposing to warn people about? Actually, many ingredients produced using genetically improved foods (GIFs) like cooking oils and sugars are chemically identical to their non-GIF counterparts. But rather than following scientific evidence, consensus, and experience, states are considering proposals to mandate anti-scientific warning labels on foods produced with corn and other crops that were genetically improved.
Read the full original article: Don’t fear genetically modified food
