The U.S. Department of Agriculture has come up with cheerful new labels for genetically modified foods. The bright green and yellow circles depict a happy sun, a winking smiley face or a verdant landscape stamped with the letters “BE,” for “bioengineered” — rather than the familiar “genetically modified” or “genetically engineered.”
It’s a shame the government is unwilling to let the facts speak for themselves.
Science has affirmed that GM foods — grown from seeds whose genes have been altered to make them resistant to insects or herbicides, for instance — are safe. There’s no need to dress up the labels to suggest that genetic modification makes foods somehow better. That risks misleading the public, just as Greenpeace and other groups have done with their baseless claims that GM crops are dangerous.
A straightforward description, not propaganda, is what American consumers want. And new evidence suggests that plain labels can help build acceptance for GM foods.
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Economists who looked at prevailing attitudes in Vermont before and after a state labeling requirement went into effect there in July 2016 have found that the state’s no-nonsense labels — no logos, just the words “produced with genetic engineering” or “partially produced with genetic engineering” — led to a 19 percent drop in opposition to GM foods.
Editor’s note: This is part of an editorial by Bloomberg
Read full, original article: Trust the Facts on GMOs
