MARCH 2019 GERMINATION.CA 21 Le Hoa Tan is a research assistant in Dr. Bahram Samanfar’s soybean functional genomics lab working in collaboration with Dr. Elroy Cober on soybean breeding at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa. However, that can be quite challenging considering the volume of information that people have access to on the internet. There is a lot of misinformation that contributes to the misunderstanding of this technology. It is difficult for regular consumers to decipher between fact and fic- tion, which affects their ability to make informed deci- sions about food and nutrition. GMOs are also regulated differently in different coun- tries and the definition of what is considered a GMO varies between countries. Because of this, GM products are not readily accessible by all consumers around the “THEPROBLEMOFFOODINSECURITYINTHE WORLDHASNOTGONEAWAY.” world. For example, in the U.S. and Canada, there is vol- untary labelling of GM products but in the EU, Japan and New Zealand, GMO labelling is mandatory. China has the largest population in the world, yet they have tightened their regulations on GMO labelling and have no clear method of how to implement them. Furthermore, conventional breeding with marker-assisted selection is classified differently, with some claiming since it involves humans directly modifying the genome, it is GM technology. Others argue otherwise. Maybe in the near future, when the effects of climate change become even more serious and food shortage is imminent, governments, scientists and industries around the world will come to terms with all the facts and create interchangeable policies and regulations that can provide access to GM foods for all consumers. An interesting point to mention is that malnutrition and obesity coexist in many countries of the world. Food shortage can lead to this global obesity epidemic because of highly processed and non-nutritive foods available. Fresh foods are generally more expensive, and in lower income families, the less expensive foods with high calo- ries and low nutrition are often the only options. It may be a good thing that groups such as Monsanto, Syngenta and other pioneering research companies are putting their resources into genetically modified foods in order to enhance its features that will help with yield and nutrition to alleviate the food insecurity issue. If these types of companies do not take the reins, probably no one else would, and we would not be as far ahead as we are now in terms of addressing the food insecurity problem. However, the opposite has been said of consolidation within the industry; that what we are doing is monopo- lizing the world’s food supply. This perception only intensifies a lot of anti-GMO sentiment that exists among consumers. Regardless, scientists can and must learn to commu- nicate better, in layman’s terms, to regular consumers. Additionally, government can provide more resources on the topics of food and nutrition (Canada’s new food guide puts an emphasis on plant-based protein, for example), and the industry can be even more transparent about their research and products. If we tackle the future collectively and proactively, we can do a lot to improve and perhaps one day solve the problem of food insecurity. This article was written with assistance from Bahram Samanfar and Elroy Cober.