Americans think they know about GMOs, but poll shows consumers still badly confused

As a non-expert consumer, it’s hard to know what to think about GMOs. Of course, we’re already consuming them, with 10 crops in the U.S. having so far received the go-ahead for commercial production: alfalfa, apples, canola, corn, cotton, papaya, potatoes, soybeans, squash and sugar beets. Insurers netQuote recently surveyed 1,021 Americans to find out how we’re feeling about GMOs these days and the degree to which we even understand what they are.

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While 89.3% of respondents claimed to know that “GMO” stands for “Genetically Modified Organism,” it’s not at all clear they’ve given much thought to what that phrase actually means.

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[W]hen we think genetic mishaps, we tend to think of cancer. netQuote asked people if they believe GMOs cause cancer …. While nearly two-thirds of respondents felt GMOs could cause cancer, basically no one believed it could help prevent it.

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We’re confused about GMOs. Or not. 60 other countries currently insist on rigorous labeling of GMO foods, so the U.S. is an outlier. 300 regions have banned GMOs altogether.

We — baffled as we may be — nonetheless have daily choices to make regarding what we put into our own bodies. The best we can do is keep reading up on GMOs and try and sort out the science from the fiction.

Read full, original article: Is the American public finally okay with GMOs? Um…