GMO FAQs
Should genetically engineered seeds be patented?
GMO critics contend that patenting genetically engineered seeds is akin to patenting life an argument never used against organic non-GMO ...
Why is there controversy over GMO foods but not GMO drugs?
Despite ample evidence that GMO crops do not threaten human health, a large portion of the general public remains skeptical ...
What are mutagenized “atomic” crops and why are they not labeled and regulated?
Humans have modified food crops for 10,000 years in order to develop varieties with beneficial traits including disease resistance, improved ...
Do GMOs cause ‘superweeds’?
Crop biotechnology critics argue that the use of genetically modified seeds, which now represent nearly 95 percent of soybeans and ...
Are GMOs to blame for the mass suicides of Indian farmers?
It's understandable why the alleged GMO link to farmer suicides in India has gained so much traction over the past ...
Organic v conventional using GMOs: Which is the more sustainable farming?
Many consumers spend more for organic food to avoid genetically modified products in part because they believe that “industrial agriculture” ...
Does Big Ag dominate crop research and the global seed supply, controlling the world food market?
Consolidation in the global seed market has not stifled innovation or spiked the prices farmers have to pay for seeds ...
Do GMO farmers ‘douse’ their fields in glyphosate and other agrochemicals?
Stories suggesting that farmers 'slather' their crops with pesticides abound on the Internet. A few examples: Controversial insecticide use rises ...
Are organic foods healthier than conventional foods?
Researchers at the Stanford University Medical School conducted the most comprehensive independent study to date "Are Organic Foods Safer or ...
Do GMOs encourage monoculture cropping and reduce biodiversity?
Anti-GMO campaigners are withering in their criticism of modern agricultural practices, including monocropping, which the introduction of GMOs encourages, they ...
Are GMOs and pesticides threatening bees?
First introduced in 1995, neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides popular in the US, Australia, Europe and elsewhere to control ...
Is glyphosate (Roundup) herbicide dangerous?
The WHO sub-agency the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic” in 2015 using what is ...
Does Monsanto sue farmers who save patented seeds or mistakenly grow GMOs?
Among the more popular criticisms aimed at Monsanto is this idea that the company is in the midst of a ...
GMO FAQs: What are CRISPR and other New Breeding Techniques (NBTs)?
Newer techniques that easily and accurately guide breeding of plants and animals, and help treat or prevent diseases, are revolutionizing ...
Where are GMO crops and animals approved and banned?
The most recent data from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) shows that more than 18 ...
What are GMOs?
The desire to regulate genetically modified foods and products has resulted in the creation of several often contradictory definitions of ...
What’s the controversy over ‘terminator’ seeds?
GURT was developed in the 1980s and first patented in the early 1990s by Dupont and a company now owned ...
Are GMOs safe?
In 2015, 15 scientists and activists issued a statement, "No Scientific consensus on GMO safety," in the journal Environmental Sciences ...
Why has the US FDA opposed mandatory GMO labeling?
The issue of GMO labeling has captured considerable attention in recent years, fueled by a variety of ballot initiatives in ...
Can GMOs rescue threatened plants and crops?
Some scientists and ecologists argue that humans are in the midst of an "extinction crisis" — the sixth wave of ...
How are GMOs labeled around the world?
Despite the fact that more than 275 science organizations have concluded that GM foods pose no more health concerns than ...
What does it take to bring a new GM product to market?
The White House issued an executive order in 2015 to review and revise the biotech approval system that pretty much ...
How are governments regulating CRISPR and New Breeding Technologies (NBTs)?
While genetically engineered crops traditionally take on average 7 years and hundreds of millions of dollars to make their way ...
Which genetically engineered crops and animals are approved in the US?
Advocacy web sites often make claims such as, "the average supermarket is full of genetically modified foods." In fact, very ...
What are “Superweeds”?
Scientists generally scorn the term superweeds, arguing that it suggests a weed is exceptionally strong or even invulnerable. Rather, these ...
Is the Monarch butterfly threatened with extinction by herbicide resistant GMOs?
The plight of the Monarch has been well documented in recent years, with the population of the migratory creature plunging ...
Can genetic engineering improve crop yields?
What have researchers attempted to accomplish with the genetic modification of seeds? The first successful commercial GMO crop was the ...
What is nutritionally enhanced Golden Rice and why is it controversial?
What is Golden Rice? Golden Rice is conventional rice that has been genetically engineered to have high levels of beta-carotene, ...
