GMOs are simply technologically advanced hybrids – just like the plant hybrids farmers and gardeners have created for centuries as they grew plants. Scientists create GMOs to achieve a desired trait such as resistance to a pest or tolerance to drought conditions. GMO seeds and plants are rigorously tested by scientists, and reviewed by the Food & Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture before they are marketed. Today, there are 10 crops with GMOs that are commercially available: alfalfa, Arctic apples, canola, corn (field & sweet), cotton, Innate potatoes, soybeans, sugar beets and summer squash.

Source: Food and Drug Administration

The food-production chain is closely monitored by several government agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through regulations and inspections all the way from the farm to your table. Most cases of food-borne illness can be prevented with proper processing, handling and cooking to destroy bacteria that causes the illness.

Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention

All foods – whether organic or non-organic – must meet federal and state regulations before being sold to consumers. Several U.S. government agencies, including the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), monitor the food production chain from farm to fork. Studies have shown there is no difference in nutritional value between organic and conventional food.

Source: Mayo Clinic

Plant breeding innovation uses genome sequencing to focus on the genetic factors that produce the best plants, and it allows breeders to reach the same endpoint as through more traditional plant breeding methods (like gardeners, farmers & scientists have done for centuries), but with greater precision and efficiency. Before foods produced using plant breeding innovation come to market, they undergo extensive testing that begins very early on in the breeding process. Using time-tested, proven procedures, scientists and researchers create new plant varieties that are safe both for farmers to grow and for all of us to eat.

Source: American Seed Trade Association

All foods (whether they come from plants or animals) contain naturally-occurring hormones: as hormones are essential to life. The majority of hormones are proteins, and our body digests proteins, so the hormones found in our food are digested and rendered biologically inactive – having no effect on our body. The FDA conducts food-safety evaluations to ensure milk from hormone-treated cows is safe for human consumption. Pasteurization destroys 90% of hormones in milk, and the FDA has found no difference between the milk produced by hormone-treated cows compared with untreated cows. However, many U.S. dairy farmers no longer use recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST) on their farms. Instead, they rely on selective breeding and technological advancements to increase milk production.