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A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.

Genetic modification affects many of the products we consume on a daily basis. As the number of GMOs available for commercial use grows every year, the Non-GMO Project works diligently to provide the most accurate, up-to-date standards for non-GMO verification.

In order for a product to be Non-GMO Project Verified, its inputs must be evaluated for compliance with our standard, which categorizes inputs into three risk levels:

The input is derived from, contains derivatives of, or is produced through a process involving organisms that are known to be genetically modified and commercially available.

Low-Risk

The input is not derived from, does not contain derivatives of, or is not produced through a process involving organisms that are presently known to be genetically modified and commercially available.

Lentils, Spinach, Tomatoes, Sesame seeds, Avocados

Non-Risk

The input is not derived from biological organisms and not, therefore, susceptible to genetic modification.

Monitored Risk

The Non-GMO Project carefully monitors the development of new genetically engineered products; we are currently tracking close to 100 products. Of those, we have included the following in our surveillance program, either because they will likely soon be widespread or because of known instances of contamination from GMOs.

Flax, Mustard, Rice, Wheat, Apple, Mushroom, Orange, Pineapple, Potato, Camelina (false flax), Salmon, Sugarcane, Tomato

Though there are only several GM crops that are widely available, they are commodity crops that often get further processed into a variety of ingredients. These high-risk ingredients are typically present in packaged products as:

Amino acids, alcohol, aspartame, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, citric acid, sodium citrate, ethanol, flavorings ("natural" and "artificial"), high-fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, lactic acid, maltodextrins, molasses, monosodium glutamate (MSG), sucrose, textured vegetable protein (TVP), xanthan gum, vitamins, vinegar, yeast products

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A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.

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Countries, territories and areas in the WHO Western Pacific Region:

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1. Did you know GMO's make up 70-80% of our foods?
2. The United States is one of the only countries that doesn't require the labeling of GMO's
3. Lots of GM plants have become resistant to the pesticides that farmers use to keep produce fresh.
4. GMO's have been around for 20 years
5. Raising GMO crops is cheaper

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CROSSBREEDING- A major concern involves the crossing of genetically modified foods with wild populations (natural plants). This is because plant rely on pollen to multiply and because the GMO's would have pollen, crossbreeding is just waiting to happen

TOXICITY AND ALLERGIES- There is a great concern that many of the foods to which are genetically modified will contain genetic information from foods people are allergic to. For example, part of a peanut gene may be put into a fruit which can cause those allergic to peanuts to have a reaction

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Genetically modified foods are great for a number of reasons. By mixing the characteristic genes of one food with the characteristic genes of another food, a whole new "species" of fruits/vegetables can arise! You can also remove unwanted characteristics from different organism like the seeds of a watermelon. You can even make plants thrive in growth when fed with saltwater rather than freshwater, thus solving several economic problems in developing countries.

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To put it simply, Genetically modified organisms involves cutting out a desired gene from one organism and placing it into the DNA of another organism so it can have those same characteristics