Do you have any idea how much of what you eat each day has been made from genetically modified organisms? Though I try to eat organic, like most Americans I’ve been consuming genetically engineered (GE) or genetically modified (GMO) foods for the past 15 years.
It’s hard not to: 70 percent of our corn farmland and 93 percent of soy farmland are planted with crops genetically engineered to resist pests and herbicides and increase crop yields. And in the next few years new science may provide genetically modified apples that don’t turn brown, rice that helps build up vitamin A, even an “Enviropig” which produces less phosphorus in its manure. Find out more about the latest news on these and more common genetically modified foods including tomatoes, canola and sugar beets.
And as early as 2012, you may be able to buy a GE super salmon that grows to maturity in just two years. As John McQuaid writes in his special report, “The Future of Food,” in the March/April issue of EatingWell Magazine, “As science. this is pretty cool.”
The science geek in me is intrigued by these new foods and wants to believe they will improve the world. Theoretically, genetically modified crops will allow us to feed more people more nutritious food, using less land and fewer pesticides or herbicides.
The health freak in me is encouraged by the fact that to date there has been no widely accepted scientific link between genetically modified foods and human health problems.
