Infographic: All The Genetically Modified Food You're Eating

GMO crops have infiltrated 80% of all the packaged food in the United States, and no one has told you. Here's why. Genetically modified food is in a store near you today.


Fast Company













Share on Tumblr

Infographic: All The Genetically Modified Food You're Eating

Infographic: All The Genetically Modified Food You're Eating Image:

By Morgan Clendaniel

GMO crops have infiltrated 80% of all the packaged food in the United States, and no one has told you. Here's why.

Genetically modified food is in a store near you today. In fact, it's been there for years. You may not know it, but in all the fracas over genetically modified food, one point is often left out: You've been eating it for a long time and no one has told you. This infographic from Nature's Path--which makes organic cereals, bars, and waffles that contain no GMO ingredients, they'd like you to know--shows where you're getting your genetically modified treats, and why no one has told you:

 

Many crops are genetically modified so frequently, it's nearly impossible to find non-GMO versions. These modifications usually involve either a seed manufacturer making their seeds genetically resistant to a certain type of weed-killer (that the seed company also conveniently sells--synergy!) or to make plants resistant to certain pests naturally.

You may not know that you're eating these crops--despite the fact that they appear in 80% of all packaged food sold in the country--because the U.S. is one of the few places in the developed world that doesn't require food producers to disclose whether or not their ingredients have any modifications.

If something is labeled "organic" by the USDA, that means it has no GMO crops. The Non-GMO Project is also working on a system for labeling products that aren't genetically enhanced. To be fair, there isn't any science that proves that GMO crops are at all bad for consumption; there also aren't any that confirm that they're safe. For now, we're in the dark. And more and more GMO products--like Monsanto's sneaky, unlabeled sweet corn, the first direct-to-consumer GMO food--are coming to market every day. The full infographic is here:

 

 


Fast Company Copyright 2011 by Fast Company. Reprinted with permission.


Comments

Add Comment
Leave this field empty

Add a Comment

You must sign in or register as a ScientificAmerican.com member to submit a comment.
Click one of the buttons below to register using an existing Social Account.

More from Scientific American

See what we're tweeting about

Scientific American Editors

More »

Free Newsletters


Get the best from Scientific American in your inbox

Solve Innovation Challenges

Powered By: Innocentive

  SA Digital

Latest from SA Blog Network

  SA Digital

Science Jobs of the Week

Email this Article

Infographic: All The Genetically Modified Food You're Eating

X
Scientific American Magazine

Subscribe Today

Save 66% off the cover price and get a free gift!

Learn More >>

X

Please Log In

Forgot: Password

X

Account Linking

Welcome, . Do you have an existing ScientificAmerican.com account?

Yes, please link my existing account with for quick, secure access.



Forgot Password?

No, I would like to create a new account with my profile information.

Create Account
X

Report Abuse

Are you sure?

X

Institutional Access

It has been identified that the institution you are trying to access this article from has institutional site license access to Scientific American on nature.com. To access this article in its entirety through site license access, click below.

Site license access
X

Error

X

Share this Article

X