GLP Podcast: Coming soon — USDA ‘bioengineered’ labels; Scientific American strays from science; Schools teach anti-GMO falsehoods

The USDA’s mandatory bioengineered food labels will begin to appear on many more products next month. What can consumers expect during their upcoming trips to the grocery store? Scientific American may be threatening its survival by injecting politics into its science reporting. Meanwhile, one food scientist wants to know why some US high schools and colleges are teaching students that GMOs are harmful.

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Join geneticist Kevin Folta and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 149 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:

• USDA’s bioengineered label is coming soon. What can it tell consumers?

In January, the USDA’s bioengineered label will begin to appear on more products in grocery stores that contain genetically engineered ingredients. The labels offer consumers no useful information about the nutritional content or safety of the foods they purchase, the USDA acknowledges, but enforcing the labeling rules could cost more than $3 billion for just the first year. Why in the world did Congress pass such an expensive and unhelpful law?

• Has Scientific American strayed too far from science?

Once arguably the most reputable publication in US science media, Scientific American has lost its way, according to some critics. The magazine has grown increasingly political, publishing a variety of dubious stories about contentious cultural issues that have little to do with science, and even dismissing a highly respected columnist who challenged the editor’s “woke” politics, as evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne put it. Coyne went on to suggest that Scientific American may be jeopardizing its future by mixing ideology with science:

My prediction is that unless the editors go back to its original format and lay off the propagandizing, the magazine will fold. After all, you can read about social justice and wokeness nearly everywhere, including Teen Vogue, but Scientific American was once unique.

• A nutritionist reflects on the sad state of health education about GMOs and farming at schools and universities

Genetically engineered crops are widely accepted in the science community as useful tools that help farmers produce our food more sustainably. Yet some high schools and colleges haven’t embraced this evidence-based conclusion. Books and documentaries advancing outright falsehoods about crop biotechnology are still used in America’s schools, even in cases where experts recommend against using these materials. The obvious question, then, is this: why are publicly funded institutions allowed to teach nonsense about GMOs?

Kevin M. Folta is a professor, keynote speaker and podcast host. Follow Professor Folta on Twitter @kevinfolta

Cameron J. English is the director of bio-sciences at the American Council on Science and Health. Visit his website and follow ACSH on Twitter @ACSHorg