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Shoppers across North America have a growing interest in knowing what is in the food they are buying and feeding to their loved ones. In particular, more people want to know whether the food they are buying contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

This relatively new science creates unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.

With news coming straight to our cell phones, inboxes and newsfeeds every day, it can be hard to distinguish what is true and what is false. As a non-profit organization, the Non-GMO Project is committed to preserving and building the non-GMO food supply. A key part of our mission is to provide education, whether in the form of transparent labels or the knowledge needed to make an informed choice. We strongly believe in keeping shoppers out of the dark when it comes to the food they are buying and feeding to their families.

Here is the truth behind three common GMO myths:

1. Myth: GMOs have been adequately tested.

Truth: For years the biotech industry has pushed the message that there is a broad scientific consensus on the safety of GMOs. However, when asked about the safety of GMOs, the World Health Organization stated, "...individual GM foods and their safety should be assessed on a case-by-case basis and that it is not possible to make general statements on the safety of all GM foods." In terms of research, there have been no independent or long-term feeding studies conducted on any commercially produced GMOs to date. Additionally, the only testing currently being done is by the same companies that have developed and hold the patent on genetically engineered crops.


Comment: Monsanto: 'There is no need for, or value in testing the safety of GM foods in humans'
Monsanto does not actually care about science, though, and has actually made it a point to just arbitrarily deny the need for actual GMO testing in humans to prove its claims. In concluding its unsubstantiated diatribe about why human testing of GMOs is unnecessary, the agri-giant says there is simply "no need, or value" in testing the safety of GMOs - in other words, if Monsanto says they are safe, then they are safe!

The fact that anyone considers this blind, self-serving declaration to be scientifically sound is frightening in and of itself, let alone the fact that the US government openly approves of such nonsense and has used it to form food policy. To put it more simply, GMOs have never been properly safety tested in humans because Monsanto does not feel it is necessary, and most of those in control of food policy are perfectly content with this.

There exists a growing concern about the connection between GMOs and their impact on human health, the environment and societal responsibilities, and more research needs to be done.

2. Myth: GMO crops decrease the use of chemicals.

Truth: More than 80 percent of commercialized GMOs are engineered to be herbicide tolerant, insect resistant or both. As a result, "super weeds" and "super bugs" have emerged, which require the application of even more toxic chemicals to be combated. Consumers have started asking questions about the effects GMOs and the chemicals associated with their production are having across North America. The danger is that once these experimental organisms have been released into the environment they cannot be recalled.


Comment: The whole idea behind biotechnology is to mass contaminate, it's the norm, once GMO seeds are in nature they take over, they are bred to survive toxic herbicides, and contrary to statements by companies like Monsanto and Bayer, these isolated incidences dohave food safety and environmental impacts:
The greater truth is that Monsanto is itself a corporation of global sabotage that destroys agriculture, contaminates the planet with genetic pollution, threatens farmers with lawsuits for planting common seeds, and then blames activists when its own dangerous experiments go haywire.

3. Myth: We need GMOs to feed the world.

Truth: This is one of the main arguments supporters of genetically engineered crops use. Though there is mounting pressure on the world's food supply, studies show GMOs won't solve the problem. According to a 2015 report by the Environmental Working Group, 80 percent of the world's genetically engineered crops are corn and soybeans, which are predominantly used to produce animal feed and biofuel. There are also other strategies to feed the world, which would not have such great impacts on the environment, such as better use of the resources that do exist. Ultimately, the issue of global hunger requires political attention and much more than agricultural practices alone need to be examined.


Comment: With more than 15 years of commercialized GMOs behind us, we know not to believe the promise that GMO's will feed the world!

Around the world, from the Government Office for Science in the U.K. to the National Research Council in the United States to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N., there is consensus: In order to address the roots of hunger today and build a food system that will feed humanity into the future, we must invest in "sustainable intensification" - not expensive GMO technology that threatens biodiversity, has never proven its superiority, even in yields, and locks us into dependence on fossil fuels, fossil water, and agrochemicals.

By definition, sustainable intensification means producing abundant food while reducing agriculture's negative impacts on the environment. Water pollution from pesticide run-off and soil degradation from synthetic fertilizer use are just two examples of the costs of industrial agriculture. And, mind you, nearly all of the GMO crops planted today rely on synthetic fertilizer and pesticides.


Equipped with the facts, consumers can make informed choices about the products they are buying. The surest way to avoid GMOs is to buy items that are both organic and Non-GMO Project Verified, and to avoid ingredients derived from high-risk cropsโ€”alfalfa, canola, corn, cotton, papaya, soy, sugar beets, zucchini and yellow summer squash. While shopping, look for the butterfly logo!