The federal budget deal that was passed last week included $3 million in funding for a new FDA campaign to provide “consumer outreach and education regarding agricultural biotechnology,” including information about GMOs. The money is to be used to educate about the “the environmental, nutritional, food safety, economic and humanitarian impacts” of biotech crops, which account for 80 percent of corn and soybean crops in the U.S., and the foods produced from them.
Last month, more than 50 agriculture and food industry groups signed a letter that requested the funding to counter “a tremendous amount of misinformation about agricultural biotechnology in the public domain.” However, some groups and lawmakers have pushed back and called the proposed campaign a government-sponsored public relations effort for the GMO industry.
No specifics about the program or a launch date have been released. The only specifications are for the initiative to be developed with the USDA and include the “publication and distribution of science-based educational information.”
Public opinion and scientific opinion often disagree on the efficacy of GMOs. A 2016 Pew Research Center study found that nearly 40 percent of American adults believe genetically modified foods are worse for health than conventional counterparts. However, another Pew study found that 88 percent of the members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science believe GMOs are safe to eat.
Source: The Gourmet Retailer