Episode 177: GMOs with McKay Jenkins

The first genetically modified food hit the market in 1994. Now, nearly all the food included in a Standard American Diet contains GMO ingredients. The good news is that if you avoid processed foods and shop the perimeter of the store, you cut your GMO consumption dramatically. However, we can't escape it altogether. The increased herbicide use becomes part of the environment in which we live. There's cross-contamination of crops, so even farms that strive to be GMO-free often find GMO plants in their fields. And 95% of animal feed is GMO. What are the health risks associated with genetically modified foods? Is it the genetic engineering that's the problem, or the chemicals that are sprayed on them? How can we make the healthiest choices when it comes to the food we eat? My guest is McKay Jenkins, a professor and journalist who has been writing and teaching about the environment for 30 years. He's the author of the book, Food Fight: GMOs and the Future of the American Diet.