Agricultural Biotechnology Education and Outreach Initiative - Experimental Study to Test the Efficacy of Educational Materials (CFSAN)

GMOs 101: Your Basic Questions Answered

OMB No. 0910 - 0865

GMOs 101:
Your Basic Questions Answered

Expiration Date: 02/28/2022

What makes it a GMO?
A GMO (genetically modified organism) is a plant,
animal, or microorganism that has had its genetic
material (DNA) changed using technology that
generally involves the specific modification of DNA,
including the transfer of specific DNA from one
organism to another. Scientists often refer to this
process as genetic engineering.

GMOs 101:
Your Basic Questions
Answered

Content current as of:
08/01/2019

Is it called GMO or something else?
“GMO” has become the common term consumers and popular media use to describe
foods that have been created through genetic engineering. This term is not generally used
to refer to plants or animals developed with selective breeding, like the common garden
strawberries available today that were created from a cross between a species native to
North America and a species native to South America. While “genetic engineering” is the
term typically used by scientists, you will start seeing the “bioengineered” label on some
of the foods we eat in the United States because of the new National Bioengineered Food
Disclosure Standard.
Did You Know?
Bioengineered food is the term that Congress used to describe certain types of GMOs
when they passed the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard. The Standard
defines bioengineered foods as those that contain detectable genetic material that has
been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through
conventional breeding or found in nature.

What GMO crops are out there?
A complete list of GMO crops currently available in the United States:
• Alfalfa
• Potatoes

• Apples

• Canola

• Soybeans

• Corn

• Cotton

• Summer squash

• Papaya

• Sugar beets

GMO crops currently
available in the
United States:

• Alfalfa
• Apples
• Canola
Only a few types of GMO crops are grown in the United States, but these GMOs make up• aCorn
large percentage of the crops planted in the country. In 2018, GMO soybeans made up • Cotton
94% of all soybeans planted, GMO cotton made up 94% of all cotton planted, and 92% of• Papaya
corn planted was GMO corn. Most GMO crops are used in food for animals like cows, • Potatoes
• Soybeans
chickens, and fish. They are also used to make ingredients that are then used in food
products like cereal, snack chips, and vegetable oils. Even though you won’t find many • Squash
• Sugar beets
Non-GMO versions of these crops are also available.

GMO fruits or vegetables in the produce section of your grocery store, GMOs are a
common part of today’s food supply.

Why do we have GMOs?

Non-GMO versions of these
crops are also available.

Humans have used traditional ways to modify crops and animals to suit their needs and
tastes for more than 10,000 years. Cross-breeding, selective breeding, and mutation
breeding are examples of traditional ways to make these changes. These breeding
methods often involve mixing all of the genes from two different sources. They are used to
create common crops like modern corn varieties and seedless watermelon.
Modern technology now allows scientists to use genetic engineering to take just a
beneficial gene, like insect resistance or drought tolerance, and transfer it into a plant.
The reasons for genetic modification today are similar to what they were thousands of
years ago: higher crop yields, less crop loss, longer storage life, better appearance, better
nutrition, or some combination of these traits.
Did You Know?
As of 2017, GMO crops are grown in 24 countries around the world, such as Canada,
Brazil, the Philippines, and Bangladesh. The approval process for GMO crops varies from
country to country, but all regulations are based on the same objective that GMOs should
Photo of GMO crops in a field
be safe for human and animal health and the environment.

Do GMOs affect your health?
GMO foods are as healthful and safe to eat as their non-GMO counterparts. Some GMO
plants have actually been modified to improve their nutritional value. An example is
GMO soybeans with healthier oils that can be used to replace oils that contain trans fats.
Since GMO foods were introduced in the 1990s, research has shown that they are just as
safe as non-GMO foods. Additionally, research shows that GMO plants fed to farm
animals are as safe as non-GMO animal food.

Do GMO plants reduce pesticide use?
Some GMO plants contain plant-incorporated
protectants (PIPs) to make them resistant to
insects, reducing the need for and use of many
spray pesticides. As another safety measure, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
works with developers and scientists to help
develop GMOs that will resist insects for as long
as possible through their Insect Resistance Management program. Other GMO plants are
developed to tolerate certain weed killers, which allows farmers a wide variety of options
for weed control. Some people are concerned that farmers who grow these GMOs will use
more weed killers. While this is sometimes the case, EPA regulates the safety of all weed
killers that farmers use on GMO crops and non-GMO crops alike. EPA also shares
information to help farmers who are concerned about weeds developing resistance to
weed killers.
About This Resource
GMO foods have been available to consumers since the early 1990s. Since then, the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have worked together to ensure that crops
produced through genetic engineering for sale to consumers are safe for people,
animals, and the environment. Despite there being a wide range of foods—GMO and
non-GMO—available to consumers, there is some confusion around what GMOs are
and how they are different from non-GMO foods.
To help increase consumer understanding of GMOs, in 2017 Congress provided
funding for an Agricultural Biotechnology Education and Outreach Initiative, which
calls upon FDA to work with EPA and USDA to share science-based educational
information about GMOs.

Sources:
https://www.fda.gov/food/food-new-plant-varieties/questions-answers-food-genetically-engineered-plants
https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/be
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us.aspx
https://www.fda.gov/food/food-new-plant-varieties/consumer-info-about-food-genetically-engineered-plants
http://nas-sites.org/ge-crops/2016/05/17/report/
https://www.epa.gov/regulation-biotechnology-under-tsca-and-fifra/overview-plant-incorporated-protectants
https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/basic-information-about-pesticide-ingredients
https://www.epa.gov/regulation-biotechnology-under-tsca-and-fifra/insect-resistance-management-bt-plant-incorporated
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-09/documents/prn-2017-2-herbicide-resistance-management.pdf
https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/agricultural-biotechnology-education-and-outreach-initiative