Is Our Food Safe?

In the past two decades, food manufacturers have introduced genetically modified organisms. Now, controversy has come to dinner.

How can I be sure,” sang the Young Rascals in
a ’60s top-40 hit, “in a world that’s constantly changing?”

One recent change in the world is right on your dinner plate. In
the past two decades, food manufacturers have introduced a huge quantity of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) onto the shelves of our grocery stores—and into the foods we eat. Reportedly, some 90 percent of the corn, sugar beet and soybean crops now grown in the U.S. have been genetically modified—with the benefits, the companies say, of providing higher yields to boost the food supply and helping the plants fight off parasites and survive in droughts. But is this food entirely safe for us? Critics say we can’t be sure.

GMO foes admit that no outright danger to humans has yet been proved, but they say some non-U.S. animal studies have linked GMO foods to reduced fertility, kidney and liver woes, inflammation, altered metabolism and other problems, so the jury may still be out. These critics call for widespread labeling of GMOs in foods, as is now required in the European Union and Australia. Not long ago, Vermont became the first state to require such labeling; now similar legislation has been introduced in at least 18 states, including New Jersey. When the industry protests that requiring such labels might scare people needlessly, critics ask: “What is it you don’t want people to know, and why?”

Some people try to avoid all GMO products, but given the ubiquity of common ingredients such as corn and sugar in GMO form, that can be a tall order. And it can add to the cost of food. Still, such efforts have fueled the rise of a fast-growing market for foods marked as “Non-GMO”—reportedly $3 billion last year, a 28 percent rise from the year before. It’s expected to keep growing.

What’s the forecast? Nobody knows for sure, but smart business suggests that the years to come will bring a better-informed public, whatever that takes. There are a lot of things of which we can’t be sure, as the Young Rascals sang. But nobody wants to be afraid of dinner.