What are GMOs and why learn about them?

GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) are foods that are "genetically modified". But do you really know what that means, and do you really know what this "NON-GMO" food label means?

The purpose of my next series of posts is to provide you with an understandable explanation of GMOs and how they affect your health. (I will not be addressing the environmental concerns, the economic impact on farmers, or legal issues, as I'm unqualified.)

Why learn about GMOs? GMO's are highly misunderstood. In fact, of any topic in science, opinions regarding GMOs have the greatest disparity between what scientists believe, and what the lay public believes. In a 2016 Pew poll, 88% of scientists believed GMOs were safe to eat, while only 38% of the general public thought so. The disparity is even greater in Europe, where public skepticism is more pronounced.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect

The lay public not only incorrectly believes GMOs are unsafe, but they rate their knowledge of biology to be far greater than it is. For example, in a recent survey, they answered true to the obviously false statement:

GMO tomatoes have genes, and NON-GMO tomatoes do not.

Yet, they ranked their knowledge of biology above that of experts. In other words, the less you know about biology, the more likely you are to think GMOs are unsafe, and the more confident you are about your answer. This trait of amateurs overestimating their knowledge is called the Dunning-Kruger effect and is well documented in many other disciplines.

Critical thinking in medicine

Because of this, the subject of GMOs offers an excellent opportunity for you to learn critical thinking in medicine. To begin this process, please answer the following questions:

1. What is a GMO food and how is it different from a NON-GMO food?

2. Do you believe GMOs are safe or unsafe?

3. How confident are you about this belief?

4. Is this confidence warranted?

5. How did you form this belief?

6. Did you fairly look at both sides of the argument?

7. Did you properly evaluate and fact-check your sources?

8. Could your belief have been influenced by biases and incorrect assumptions?

Excellent! We now have a baseline of your knowledge, how you attained that knowledge, and your confidence in that knowledge. I will show you in future posts that every one of you is incorrect about even the basic definition of a GMO, yet most of you avoid them. In my next post, I will discuss why we are so prone to misunderstand and dislike GMOs… Stay tuned.