GMOs

It Turns Out That GMO Warning Labels Didn’t Work

You know all those campaigns to warn us against the horrors of frankenfood by putting GMO labels on cans? A new study shows that even when food has GMO labels, nobody cares. Groups who oppose GMOs have pushed governments to put warning labels on food that explain it has been genetically modified. The idea is…

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would ban states from labeling GMO foods. It’s the first federal move on an issue that, until now, has mostly been controlled by the states. You can read more on the full case against GMO labeling right here.

Yes, GMOs are Safe to Eat

Welcome to this week’s installment of Reading List, a weekly assemblage of the best science and technology reads on the Internet, brought together in one place, just for you, by Gizmodo. This week, we’ll meet a pair of Ukrainian YouTube stars making it big with do-it-yourself science, then contemplate what we’ll do with all our…

Are These “Double-Muscled” Pigs the Future of Meat?

By editing a single gene, researchers from South Korea and China have engineered pigs that produce about twice the amount of muscle as normal pigs. The goal is to produce leaner meat and at higher yields, but early results show it could be a long time before this jacked-up pork appears on your dinner plate.…

You Can Thank Genetic Engineering For Your Delicious Cheese

It used to be that making cheese meant killing cows. Young cows, specifically—a few days old, at most. The stomach of an unweaned calf produces enzymes that turn liquid milk into good, hard, flavorful cheeses like Parmesan and Cheddar. These enzymes, called rennet, are secreted by mucous membranes that line the calf’s fourth stomach. Harvesting…

Genetic Engineers Are Building a Biological Kill Switch

The fear of genetically-modified creatures escaping from the lab is the basis for a thousand sci-fi stories, but it’s also a legitimate concern. That’s why genetic engineers are inventing kill switches, or genetically-encoded suicide triggers, for GMOs they want to keep contained. Here’s how they work. Why we need kill switches When we talk about…

Chipotle’s Anti-GMO Stance Is Some Anti-Science Pandering Bullshit

Chipotle, a company known for making oversized burritos and publishing literary fiction on items of trash, announced today that it has stopped serving food made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Oh hooray, yet another victory for misinformation. There is a broad scientific consensus that genetic modification is a safe and likely necessary technology for feeding…

Not All GMO Plants Are Created Equal

Many people have strong opinions about genetically modified plants, also known as genetically modified organisms or GMOs. But sometimes there’s confusion around what it means to be a GMO. It also may be much more sensible to judge a plant by its specific traits rather than the way it was produced – GMO or not.…

Scientists Bioengineer TB-Resistant Cattle By Injecting A Mouse Gene

Bovine tuberculosis is a serious problem in many parts of the world, resulting in the culling of thousands of cattle each year and at tremendous cost. Now, Chinese scientists have produced a herd of transgenic cows that exhibit an improved ability to ward off the disease. Cattle that were genetically modified to carry a mouse…

Millions Of Mutated Mosquitoes Could Be Unleashed In Florida—On Purpose

The U.S. Food and Drug administration is considering a plan in which millions of genetically modified mosquitoes would be set loose in the Florida Keys as a way to combat the spread of tropical diseases. Top image: A modified Aedes aegypti mosquito (Oxitec). As the climate warms, tropical diseases like Dengue and Chikungunya are starting…

Researchers Engineer ‘Kill Switch’ To Keep GM Bacteria In Check

As we venture deeper into the era of GMOs and synthetic life, it’s critical that we develop safeguards to prevent the contamination of natural systems. To that end, researchers have devised a clever solution to ensure this never happens – at least in GM bacteria. The solution, the details of which now appear in two…

80% Of Americans Support Mandatory Labels On Foods Containing DNA. DNA!

A recent survey conducted by the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Economics found that 80.44% of respondents supported a government policy mandating labels on foods containing DNA. Not GMOs. DNA, the genetic material contained in every living thing known to science and practically every food, GMO or otherwise. Update: In light of responses to…

The Congressional Debate Over What Makes Food “Natural”

A controversial bill that seeks to block mandatory GMO food labeling by individual U.S. states was the subject of a hearing held yesterday by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. Amid the testimonies, one key question emerged time and again: Are genetically modified foods “natural”? Activists in several states have been pushing for…

New Analysis Suggests GMOs Can Be A Very Good Thing

Results of a meta-analysis published in the latest issue of PLOS paint a favorable picture of genetically modified crops — which make a positive impact on farmers, crop yields and profits. Photo Credit: Stuart Williams via flickr | CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. The last two decades have seen several investigations into the effect of GM crops…

Will GMO Labeling Raise Food Prices?

Oregon will soon vote on Proposition 92, which requires mandatory labeling of GM foods. While opponents of the measure warn labeling costs will increase food prices, supporters just released a study saying the median cost to consumers would only be $2.30 per year. But that estimate overlooks some crucial ingredients. The 14-page study, published by…

Anti-GMO activist Mike Adams, who last week called for his followers to kill journalists who cover biotech, claims the “hit list” site attributed to him is actually a false flag created by pro-Monsanto forces. But this investigation reveals that there’s a lot of evidence connecting Adams to the hit list site.

Anti-GMO activist Mike Adams, featured recently on Dr. Oz, has issued a call for his followers to kill journalists he calls “Monsanto collaborators” because they have written about the possible benefits of GMOs. His homicidal logic is based on the myth that GMOs are causing mass suicides in India, which he’s dubbed “genocide.”

​If You Want a Glimpse of the Future Food Wars, Look to Hawaii

After Hawaii banned GMO crops, local farmers say they have no idea whether their plants are illegal or not. Plus, it’s unclear whether the state even has the right to enforce this ban in the first place. The Aloha State is about to become ground zero for the U.S. food wars. Hawaii might seem an…

Preppers Explain Why They Joined The Organic Food Movement

Activists championing organic foods have found support among preppers. They’re sympathetic to the “government is a conspiracy and corporations are evil” idea. But what really made preppers into anti-GMO food activists is their desire to have a healthy post-apocalyptic lifestyle. (Photo: Destination America) Yes, the preppers, have gone green. You can get all sorts of…

BBC Institutes Changes to Prevent “False Balance” in Science Reporting

The BBC Trust published an update on an years-old report questioning the “over-rigid application of editorial guidelines on impartiality” in science reporting. Or, as the Telegraph put it, they were told to “stop inviting cranks onto science programmes.” Which seems slightly harsh. The original 2011 report (which is fascinating) mentions examples in three areas where…