‘GMO stigma’: Arctic Apple—on sale in US—battles public perceptions

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genetically engineered Arctic apple illustrates how to ease consumer fear of GMO crops

The Arctic Apple, on sale in the US from Canadian company Okanagan Speciality Fruits, is a genetically modified (GM) apple that doesn’t brown when sliced or bruised. President of Okanagan Specialty Fruits Neal Carter discusses the product’s creation, and developing opinions of GM products in the US marketplace.

Is there still a stigma in the US about using or consuming GM products?

Neal Carter: It’s a controversial topic, no doubt about it. But it’s only a very vocal minority of people who are actively against GM crops, and we will likely never convert those people, but there are many people who are either neutral, or who don’t know much about them at all, so we have a significant undertaking ahead of us as we educate consumers around this product.

What we do see is that at the end of the day, the apple sells itself.

The GM stigma isn’t really something we see as a huge impediment to the growth or market potential of our product.

We like to think that in the future, with more education and outreach, there will be a broader acceptance of GM crops, as right now a lot of the pushback is people not really understanding what the technology is doing and how it works.

Read full, original post: Arctic Apples: combating the genetically modified stigma

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