GMOs 101: FDA launches GMO consumer education initiative

The GMO science-based consumer education initiative between the FDA, USDA, and EPA was funded by Congress in 2017. 

"Feed Your Mind is our new education initiative to help consumers better understand genetically engineered foods, commonly called GMOs or genetically modified organisms," ​​stated the FDA on the new Feed Your Mind website​​.

“Despite there being a wide range of foods — GMO and non-GMO — available to consumers, there is some confusion around what GMOs are and how they are used in our food supply.”​ 

According to a 2018 survey by The Hartman Group​​, 46% of consumer surveyed said they avoid GMO foods (up from 33% in 2013) citing health & well-being concerns (70%) as the top reason for avoiding GMO foods, followed by ‘food ingredient transparency’ (43%). The Hartman Group also found that two-thirds of consumers surveyed believe GMO labeling should be mandatory, and two in five saying they would be more likely to buy products that contained them if a food company was up front about explaining why they use them.

The Feed Your Mind​ website includes science-based educational resources, easy-to-understand fact sheets, infographics, and videos to answer consumers’ basic questions about GMOs, such as “What are GMOs?”, “Why do we have GMOs?”, and “What GMO crops are out there?”.