b'GE LABELING GIVES CONSUMERS A REASON TO TRUSTWhile GMO ingredients have come into question from regulatory bodies, mandatory labeling gives way to education opportunities.Alex MartinGENETICALLY ENGINEERED (GE)products have been under fire since the dawn of their existence, starting with the Flavr Savr tomato. There was a lot of hype when it came to market, but it did not live up to its optimistic press according to Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill Universitys Office for Science and Society. Consumers were not happy it did not taste like a freshly picked tomato as advertised, and therefore, consumers have placed mistrust in the products, and due to that, labeling laws have been debated across the globe. Most notably, in the U.S., a new GE labeling law requiring mandatory labeling of bioengineered foods intended for human consumption that contain more than 5% GMO ingredients will go into effect Jan. 1, 2022. Were still pretty early on, says Jayson Lusk, head of Purdue Universitys Agricultural Economics department. Most of the research that Ive seen done is what we call ex anteorbeforehandof what were projecting will happen.Companies have plenty of options to showcase GE ingre-dients, though, including the USDAs created bioengineered symbol or even a QR code. Our research seems to suggest that most consumers, while not very knowledgeable on the subject, its not an issue thats front of mind for most consumers, Lusk says. Nonetheless, if youve forced people to make a choice and one product doesnt have a disclosure and one explicitly mentioned something about GE ingredients, people on average will prefer the one withoutJayson Lusk is head of Purdue Universitys Agricultural Economics that disclosure on it.department. Similarly, Schwarcz notes food ingredients have been inquestion for a long time. else would you put a label non-GMO on a product? Scientific People have had questions about whether or not they shouldilliteracy is the poison of our world today and its undermining be eating foods that contain ingredients that are multisyllabic,public trust in science. he says. As an example, Schwarcz mentions that the ingredient beta-D-Fructofuranosyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside might have anNutrition and GE Ingredientsintimidating namebut is actually just another term for sugar.Nutrition is another major player when it comes to consumer However, Schwarcz says the panic is fading over GMOs.choice in grocery stores. But according to Schwarcz, GMO The biggest problem we face is that people dont knowfoods cannot be nutritionally inequivalent to their non-GMO what GMOs are, so its easy to avoid because it just sounds likecounterpart. The real question, he says, comes down to whether it something that should be avoided, he says. Because, whyor not theres any enhanced nutrition. 106/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2021'