What if you knew that detractors fear that GM foods might pose health risks for certain people?

-> Some critics of GM foods feel the possibility exists that those genetically modifying food crops may unintentionally introduce a new allergen. Some critics argue that the possibilities of allergies might be greater than with traditionally bred crops. Another potential hazard to human health is the possibility that bacteria in our guts could pick up antibiotic-resistance genes found in many GM foodstuffs. What if you knew that proponents assert that GM foods will promise many health benefits? -> Advocates hold that GM foods will leave traditional crops in the dust. They will have longer shelf life. They will be better for us, with some products already in the works benefiting our waistlines and others bearing higher nutritional content. What if you knew that many feel GM crop technology will hurt small farmers? -> Critics of GM agriculture insist that patenting genetically altered crops, as agribusiness is rushing to do, will make small farmers indentured to big firms. Some fear that GM crops might prove too expensive for poor farmers in developing countries, thus further widening the gap between rich and poor, or that they could repeat an often unspoken side effect of the Green Revolution. What if you knew that GM patrons insist that farmers will reap great benefits from biotechnology? -> Insect pests cause stupendous crop losses every year, resulting in harsh financial setbacks for farmers. With crops genetically engineered to resist pests, GM proponents say, growers can avoid such losses and bring their produce to market at less cost. What if you knew that opponents fear that GM crops could harm the environment? -> Many critics believe we're opening a Pandora's lunchbox with GM technology, that raising GM crops is an uncontrolled experiment with unknown consequences for surrounding ecosystems. One of their greatest worries is that GM crops could harm other wildlife. What if you knew that advocates maintain that GM technology will help the environment? -> In the U.S. alone, farmers spray, spread, and otherwise administer more than 970 million tons of insect- and plant-killers every year. These pose threats to the environment.

Pesticide residues linger on crops and in soil, find their way into the guts of wildlife that eat contaminated foliage, and leach into groundwater and wash into streams. What if you knew that many people feel genetically modifying organisms goes against Nature? -> Many opponents of the genetic revolution -- whether it involves sequencing the human genome, owning genetic material, or devising GM crops -- pronounce that fiddling with the genetic makeup of plants and animals is unnatural. Nature takes millions of years to effect genetic change. What if you knew that scientists submit that genetically modifying plants is completely natural? -> Genetic modification couldn't be more natural, geneticists say. Plants (and animals) genetically modify themselves all the time. That's the basis of evolution. We've been genetically modifying plants (and animals) for millennia. That's the basis of agriculture. What if you knew that many critics inveigh against biotech companies for being profitdriven, with little concern for potential risks to people or nature? -> GM seed firms invest heavily in research and development, and naturally, they want to recoup their investment. But in their rush to secure patents and reap profits, critics contend, big biotech firms are deliberately over-promoting the benefits of GM technology and underestimating possible health, socioeconomic, and environmental hazards. What if you knew that companies that fashion GM seeds maintain that GM crops hold the greatest hope for adequately feeding our rapidly expanding world population? -> Biotech spokespersons have argued that, while the industry is indeed concerned about the bottom line, it is primarily driven by research and innovation. Their argument is straightforward: Innovation is the only way to meet the world's burgeoning needs for food and medicines in a rapidly shrinking and increasingly scarred natural environment. What if you knew that many critics assert that GM foods suffer from dangerously poor oversight and regulation? -> Anti-GM food activists have leveled much of their ire at the United States, which produces the bulk of the world's GM foods. Biotech firms, detractors maintain, have been developing and deploying GM crops too quickly and too broadly, without adequate testing or public debate. And the three government bodies that oversee the industry -- the

Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency -- are too lax in their scrutiny and regulation, they say. What if you knew that GM seed companies maintain that GM crops are the most thoroughly tested and highly regulated food plants out there? -> Biotech firms hold that every GM food crop is thoroughly tested for possible health effects. They conduct these in-depth analyses, they say, because they are legally required to ensure foods they sell meet federal safety standards.