Vermont is poised to pass a GMO labeling bill before the end of the session. The labeling issue is framed as a right to know what's in our food. But that's not the only thing people talk about when they argue about GMOs. There's also a controversy about whether GMOs might be bad for our health, or whether enough research has even been done on the health effects. And there's an argument over whether GMOs lead to an overuse of herbicides, which in turn may create species of super-weeds. Or whether GMOs help farmers use fewer insecticides and till the soil less often. From scientific innovation to the corporate control of our food supply, there are a lot of issues at stake in the conversation about GMOs.
We'll try to get a better understanding of what we do know for sure about GMOs, and how that fits in to the larger conversation, with journalists Amy Harmon and Nathanael Johnson. They've both been writing about GMOs and the controversy surrounding them. We'll also learn how genetic modification actually happens in the lab from UVM Professor of Plant Biology Mary Tierney.
Broadcast live on Wednesday, April 23 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
