Dive Brief:
- The White House has tasked three federal agencies with overhauling regulatory approval for genetically-modified foods: the USDA, EPA, and FDA.
- The current system, known as the "Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology," will be updated to relieve problems and confusion: "Its complexity 'can make it difficult for the public to understand how the safety of biotechnology products is evaluated,' small companies can have a difficult time navigating the process, and new technologies are emerging that existing rules didn't anticipate," reports NPR.
- Groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest hope that this overhaul will include weighing a wider range of risks for GMOs, both for people and the environment.
Dive Insight:
Better understanding of GMOs might lessen the gap between certain demographics when it comes to safety and clarity around consuming modified foods.
For example, a recent Pew study found that women (65%) are more likely than men (49%) to believe that GMOs are unsafe to eat, and Blacks (68%) and Hispanics (65%) believe GMOs are unsafe more so than Caucasians (53%). Education can also be also a factor as to whether someone supports GMOs or not, where, "62% of people with a high school education or less believe GMOs are generally unsafe, while only 38% of people with a post-graduate degree believe GMOs are generally unsafe," according to Business Insider.
What doesn't play a role, according to the study, is political ideology and party affiliation, despite what GMO news and happenings in the past might have suggested. In March, figureheads in the Republican Party, including presidential candidates, spoke up about GMO issues, mostly in support of GMOs. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), for example, came out in opposition of "anti-science zealotry [that could] shut down the ability to produce low cost, quality food for billions across the globe," Cruz said, as reported by KCCI News 8. House Republicans are also behind the voluntary GMO labeling initiative in Congress.