New GMA Website Answers Questions About GM Foods
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has launched a new website designed to provide consumers, policymakers and the media with answers to their questions about the use of genetically modified (GM) food ingredients.
“Genetically modified food ingredients are not only safe for people and our planet, but they have a number of important benefits,” said GMA president and CEO Pamela Bailey. “This technology has been used safely in the food supply in the United States for 20 years, and 70 to 80 percent of the food we eat in the United States, at home and away from home, contains ingredients that have been genetically modified."
The website allows consumers to research and verify the safety, prevalence and benefits of genetically modified food ingredients by visiting online information posted by credible and independent sources, including governmental food safety agencies, medical and health organizations, news organizations, food safety experts and non-governmental organizations.
“We know that some consumers have questions about genetically modified food ingredients,” added Bailey. “We built this Web site to help answer their questions about the safety, prevalence and benefits of this important and effective technology. Modern agricultural biotechnology helps us keep American food affordable and allows us to do that in a way that protects and preserves our natural resources by using less land, fewer pesticides and less water.
“GM technology has fueled an agricultural revolution in the United States that has helped us feed a growing American and world population. By 2050, we will need to expand food production by 70 percent just to keep pace with a global population that is expected to grow to 9 billion.”
According to the GMA, any of the most influential regulatory agencies and organizations that study the safety of the food supply, including the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, Health Canada, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Academy of Sciences, have found genetically modified food ingredients are safe and there are no negative health effects associated with their use.
The association added that GM technology adds desirable traits from nature, without introducing anything unnatural or using chemicals, so that food is more plentiful. Ingredients grown using GM technology require fewer pesticides, less water and keep production costs down. In fact, GM technology helps reduce the price of crops used for food, such as corn, soybeans and sugar beets by as much as 15-30 percent.
“GMA and its member companies will continue to advocate for the continued safe and effective use of agricultural biotechnology to increase the food supply while lowering cost,” said Bailey. “We will continue to engage in an informative dialogue with our consumers so that they understand the safety, prevalence and benefits of GM technology and so that they can make informed choices for themselves and their families.”
Based in Washington, D.C., the Grocery Manufacturers Association represents more than 300 leading food, beverage and consumer product companies in the United States and around the globe.