Genetically modified food is safe—and essential to feed a hungry planet

See Meet Mr. Frankenfood. From the WSJ. Excerpts:

"Frescada lettuce, a crunchy leaf that is a cross between romaine and iceberg lettuce and was produced, as it happens, through conventional breeding techniques.

Does that mean it's genetically modified? Yes. You may have noticed that lettuce doesn't grow in the wild. For a millennium, farmers have genetically improved crops through breeding"

"and more than 90% of all acres planted with corn and soybeans are now GM crops. These crops, typically fed to livestock and used as ingredients in other foods, are in nearly 80% of the products on grocery-store shelves.

The switch to GM crops happened so rapidly because farmers favored the new technology over the traditional."

"Genetically modified seeds are more resilient, yield more crops on less land and require less labor."

""The biotech-derived products that we eat are the most highly tested and regulated components in what we consume,""

"It takes about $100 million to get one seed from discovery to market. Crops that are bred conventionally, on the other hand, undergo no government testing. None.

Research shows that GM crops are just as safe. "Every regulatory agency—I'm not talking U.S.; I'm talking the world, including Europe—has said these things are as nutritious and healthy as anything else," Mr. Begemann points out. That includes the FDA, the World Health Organization and the British Royal Society, all of which have declared GM crops as safe as conventional crops."

"The anxiety is fueled by "outright myths," including the one that GMOs aren't safe to eat. But no one is getting sick. Another myth is that crops don't increase yield. Yet farmers keep buying the seeds"

"GM crops help the environment by reducing pesticide use. Thanks to fewer sprays and less tillage, GM crops in 2012 reduced world-wide carbon emissions by 26.7 billion kilograms—the equivalent of taking 11.8 million cars off the road for a year,"

"we already have a useful label at the federal level: the organic seal. "Anybody who wants to stay away from GM can buy organic"