Democratic Party/disinformation/GMO foods
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Claim
It is claimed that Democrats often spread disinformation about GMO foods.
| The claim on this page needs more explanation and/or sources. We are lacking specific examples – sourced quotes – of Democrats spreading disinformation on this subject. |
Reality
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While there is some disinformation about GMO foods out there, it's not clear how much of it originates with the Democratic Party – and there are also legitimate concerns in certain areas:
- It's not clear if the health effects of certain GMO products, such as vegetables that grow their own pesticide, have been properly evaluated.
- The business practices of companies that make GMO foods have been highly questionable:
- Farmers who grow GMO crops are often effectively "locked in" to using one variety of seed, from one company, by a variety of means.
- GMO companies have abused or threatened to abuse their "intellectual property" rights by, for example, suing anyone who grows crops from their seedstock without a license.
There is also a fair amount of pro-GMO disinformation in circulation, such as the belief that GMO foods are necessary in order to feed the planet. At most, GMO crops temporarily produce higher yields than more sustainably-grown crops, but over the long run yields tend to decline and/or require intensive injection of petroleum-based fertilizer to maintain yields (significantly increasing the crop's energy footprint and usage of other limited stocks such as phosphorus).