Issue Overview: GMOs and engineered

food
By Bloomberg, adapted by Newsela staff on 09.06.16
Word Count 674
Level 1220L

TOP: A biotech lab produces GMO rice in the Philippines. Photo by David Greedy. MIDDLE: Courtesy of Center for Food
Safety. BOTTOM: International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

 Glowing plants. Self-

destructing mosquitoes. The "Frankenfish" movie. There’s no denying that genetic engineering
is a walk on the weird side. Yet genetically modified living things are as common as corn, as
routine as rice.

GMOs, which stands for genetically modified organisms, are plants or animals that have had
their genes altered with DNA from different species to get certain traits. They make farmers
more productive and reduce the need for chemicals to control bugs, for example.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2

About 90 percent of corn, soybeans and cotton grown in the U.S. is engineered. GMOs are
ingredients in 70 to 80 percent of America’s processed foods.

Scientists and regulators broadly agree that GMO foods pose no more risk to health and the
environment than ingredients developed through older breeding methods. Yet only 28
countries plant genetically engineered crops and a global battle rages over their future. The
latest issue: labeling.

The Situation

Two decades after engineered crops were first sold to Americans, President Barack Obama in
late July signed a law requiring engineered ingredients to be disclosed on food packages. The
rule overrides state laws, like the one that took effect in Vermont on July 1. It allows food
manufacturers to disclose the presence of GMOs in text on the package, or print a code that
when scanned with a smart phone provides the information. Critics have said the latter option
is discriminatory to the elderly and poor, who are less likely to have such a phone.

More than 60 countries have labeling requirements, including Japan, Brazil, China and the
entire European Union. The biggest developers of GMOs also sell most of the world's
commercial seeds. They are led by the Monsanto company, which has a 27 percent market
share and is targeted for takeover by Bayer. Dow Chemical and DuPont, which plan to merge,
together have 23 percent of the seed market, while Syngenta has 8 percent.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3

The Background

Humans have been manipulating crop genetics for thousands of years, crossing and selecting
plants that exhibit desirable traits. In the last century, breeders exposed crops to radiation and
chemicals that induced random variations. These and other lab methods gave fruits and
vegetables new colors, made crops disease-resistant and made grains easier to harvest. Most
wheat, rice and barley are descendants of mutant varieties, as are many vegetables and fruits.

In the early 1980s, scientists discovered how to insert genes from other species into plants,
which eventually led to the 1994 commercialization of the first GMO, the FlavrSavr tomato. It
was weak tasting and was pulled from the market.

In November, the first GMO meat was approved for sale in the United States. AquaBounty
Technologies’ salmon was engineered to grow twice as fast as conventional salmon, with less
feed. It awaits GMO labeling guidelines before it can be imported from inland fish farms in
Canada and Panama for sale in the U.S.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4

Mosquitoes engineered to bear non-viable offspring have the potential to combat human
diseases without chemical insecticides.

The Argument

GMO supporters point to a scientific agreement, reflected in reports and statements from the
National Academy of Science and other groups, that GMOs pose no more risk than other
crops. There is little doubt that they’ve cut insecticide use, reduced soil erosion and made
farmers more efficient. They've even saved Hawaiian papayas.

Weeds and pests targeted by engineered crops are genetically adapting themselves, with
dismaying implications. Monsanto’s bug-killing corn is so widely used that the corn rootworm
is developing a resistance, requiring the use of more pesticides after years of decline.

Consumers remain cautious nonetheless, not only of GMOs themselves but also of their
central place in industrial agriculture. Anti-corporate ideology plays a role, with Monsanto
emerging as a bogeyman in popular culture.

The food industry is divided. The Grocery Manufacturers Association and supporters spent
$68 million on campaign advertising to defeat labeling proposals in California and
Washington. The organic, or pesticide-free, food industry, which has quadrupled its annual
sales since 1999, is a prime financial supporter of labeling efforts, anticipating more growth
from frightened shoppers.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5

Quiz

1 Which of the following selections from the article BEST develops a central idea?

(A) Scientists and regulators broadly agree that GMO foods pose no more risk to
health and the environment than ingredients developed through older breeding
methods. Yet only 28 countries plant genetically engineered crops and a global
battle rages over their future.

(B) It allows food manufacturers to disclose the presence of GMOs in text on the
package, or print a code that when scanned with a smart phone provides the
information. Critics have said the latter option is discriminatory to the elderly
and poor, who are less likely to have such a phone.

(C) They are led by the Monsanto company, which has a 27 percent market share
and is targeted for takeover by Bayer. Dow Chemical and DuPont, which plan
to merge, together have 23 percent of the seed market, while Syngenta has 8
percent.

(D) In November, the first GMO meat was approved for sale in the United States.
AquaBounty Technologies’ salmon was engineered to grow twice as fast as
conventional salmon, with less feed.

2 Read the sentence from the section "The Situation."

Two decades after engineered crops were first sold to Americans,

President Barack Obama in late July signed a law requiring
engineered ingredients to be disclosed on food packages.

Does this sentence support the main idea of the article? Why?

(A) Yes; it shows the importance of warning consumers of the dangers of GMOs.

(B) Yes; it introduces the newest of many contentious debates about GMO foods.

(C) No; it does not develop the history of the controversial scientific engineering of
GMO crops.

(D) No; it does not mention the responding efforts of the companies that produce
GMO seeds to combat this law.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6

3 Which of the following topics is emphasized in the chart "More Engineered Crops," but not in the
article?

(A) the widespread increase in the growth and use of GMOs all over the world

(B) the widespread increase in concerns about the growth and use of GMO foods

(C) how developing countries have surpassed industrial countries in GMO

production

(D) how developing countries have surpassed industrial countries in GMO

consumption

4 Read the following sentence from the section "The Situation."

More than 60 countries have labeling requirements, including Japan,

Brazil, China and the entire European Union.

Based on the information in the sentence and the graph "GMO Food Labeling Laws Around the
World," which of the following conclusions is MOST reasonable?

(A) Only a small number of countries plant genetically engineered crops, but the
vast majority have labeling requirements.

(B) Asian countries have significantly limited the number of GMO food products
allowed.

(C) North America is significantly behind in worldwide efforts to develop label

requirements for GMO foods.

(D) Despite some African countries' resistance to GMO crops, there has been no
effort on the African continent to enforce label requirements.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 7