depends...i think I would need to know more about the product though...

From what I have red (extensively) the genetic modifications are generally for longevity or structure at the expense of taste. IE: Tomatoes what are thicker skinned so that they don't bruise while traveling. I think this whole area is VERY dangerous.

I used to think it was no big deal, that people get all worked up over scientific progress, but now I get it a little more. It's not that the food itself would necessarily be directly bad for you if you eat it, the problem is that these plants inevitably come into contact with nature, and the freaky-ass stuff that's been done to it means that it'd affect ecosystems in ways we can't completely predict, which can have disastrously destructive results if even the smallest thing goes wrong.

I remember reading about a plant genetically modified not to make seeds so that the company can make more money selling seeds. That's potentially a doomsday scenario right there if the trait of "not producing seeds" somehow spread over to other crops and all the plants in the world die out with nothing to replace them.

I'm in favor of progress for the most part, but some things just should be left well enough alone.

One of the things that scares me the most with GMOs (genetically modified organisms) is when plants are treated with pesticides or antibiotics before they are planted into the ground. Sure this stuff comes in contact with nature but I just don't like the idea of any of this stuff lingering around in the food I am going to eat. This is why non-organic milk grosses me out with the amount of antibiotics and hormones in it.

I agree with looseseal. The only way that I see GMOs being helpful is adding vitamins to a staple like rice to help malnourished populations. I think they have to be carefully regulated and grown.

Well we do have hybrid plants right? those are considered genetically modified.

I'm sure I have already eaten something that was genetically modified.

I think a lot of the food we eat is genetically modified already. Almost all corn is, and if you've watched "King Corn" then you know how much corn pervades the American diet.

What Partysugar and limelindsey said. I try to buy organic food as much as possible, but avoiding GMO is impossible if you eat corn. Or drink soda, or eat Yoplait, etc. It all has high-fructose corn syrup in it, and that corn is most likely GMO corn.

Unless you are specifically buying foods that state otherwise, you are eating GMOs. A very large percentage of corn and soybean plants in the US are genetically modified.

I don't like the idea of GMO and try to get organic as much as possible.

And gabiushka, hybridization isn't the same as genetic modification. Hyrbid plant are a cross between two plants, while genetic modification involves changing the DNA in a way that is generally not able to be done in nature, e.g. splicing animal genes into plants. Things like that raise ethical and religious issues, especially when the gm plants aren't labeled. If a plant contains animal genetics and your religious beliefs forbid you from consuming animals, how does this play into that?

Also, with genetic modified plants, it's impossible to contain the pollen from them and not spread them to other plants. There are still too many issues with gentically modified foods for most people to feel safe consuming them.

never KNOWINGLY. that said, although i buy organic whenever and wherever possible, i still end up eating a lot of food whose origins i have no idea about.

i try to get as much organic fruit/veg as possible and do some research about packaged products before i buy (like for certain kinds of vegetable oil), but there isn't a great deal of information available for most things.

I'm fine with genetically modified foods. It's true that there are already plenty on the market, and I think that if people were better educated about them then there would be less aversion.

I draw the line at eating genetically modified human.

Maybe I'm a skeptic, but I highly doubt 53 percent of people know how to avoid genetically modified food.

Good point, Angelica. We eat genetically modified foods every day. Every item in the produce section of every store, including Whole Foods, has been genetically modified by humans. So-called "heirloom" varieties of produce are simply the results of genetic modification as of thirty, forty or fifty years ago.

I'll pass!

I prefer that my food be as natural as possible because I want REAL food, not something un natural that's been messed with but unfortunately, I think I would have to live elsewhere to live somewhere where food is predominately not messed with...or also grow my own food.

I try to do my homework and avoid unnatural stuff whenever possible. Sadly, I think a lot of things go into our food that we don't even know about. It's hard to find the info even if you look for it.

The only food that's not GM is organic and i don't know if I could be 100% that it isn't. (That's just a highly cynical person talking though.)

Nope. I need natural!

I try to consume organic as much as possible now. My husband was raised on a farm; his parents raised the family food without pesticides and other chemicals. I grew up in the city, consuming supermarket produce. He is much healther, more resistant to illness. My immune system is gradually getting better. The farm is his now, and we are "home-growing" most of our food, and try to buy organic at the store. GM's just don't sound right.

Natural all the way; I do not want a tomato made from some chemical s***.

The biggest misconception is that GMOs are treated with chemicals, pesticides, etc. This is not true. Scientists splice genes and insert them into plant cells. The plant cells reproduce and integrate this spliced gene into their DNA. The plants then produce their own NATURAL pesticide because of this gene.

The biggest problems with GMOs are reduced quality of taste, development of insect resistance to the natural pesticide, and the impossibility of pollination control.

Never!!!

I think there is a lot of misconception about genetically modified foods mainly driven by people who don't have a lot of information about these foods. People need to be educated about genetically modified foods. As some of you have indicated here, much of the fear about genetically modified foods is borne from from misinformation and propaganda by such organizations as the Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. They have their own agenda, which is to mislead as much as they can to protect their bottom line. It's very interesting a lot of the noise about genetically modified foods doesn't come from scientists but from folks who could not complete a simple laboratory experiment when they were in high school. I have just read an article by a scientist on why we should not throw away genetically modified foods. The article is available here (http://www.gmoafrica.org/2008/05/the-furor-over-genetically-modified-foo....)The article reminds us that genetically modification of plants has been taking place from time immemorial. So, what scientists are doing at the moment is just improvement of what we already know. I don't see any importance of keeping throwing mud at corporation that make genetically modified seeds such as Monsanto and DuPont. They have an important role to play in enhancing food security in the world. I would advise everybody here to try to stick to science when discussing genetically modified foods. This is the only way we will bring sanity to this debate.

I'm sure I do it all the time. I'm sure it's not the healthiest thing in the world, oh well.

i think that as a society we're a little stuck-up regarding our food concerns. GMO foods are great in that it allows more of the world to have food, its less expensive and can be distributed easily. I personally am fortunate enough that I can afford to eat non-GMO foods however, millions of people around the world cannot say the same.

I dont think I have any right to knock GMO foods when I don't go hungry each night.

I no longer buy my fruits or vegetables at the big chain stores unless it's listed as organic. i go to the local farmers markets and the little stands along the side of the roads in the valley. i rather be in touch with the farmer/grower/picker etc.

No, I wouldn't

i've gotta admit, i like my seedless watermelons