Mandated labeling of food containing genetically engineered products continues to be a divisive

issue.

And we now have lots of data for how such mandates end up affecting pricing and consumer

attitudes wherever they're implemented.

Spoiler alert, it's not good.

In fact, the major effect mandated labeling seems to have is to deceptively instill fear

in people about modern agriculture, and that's exactly what the organic proponents want.

That's coming up next on Skeptoid.

You're listening to Skeptoid.

I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.

The effects of mandated GMO labeling.

For thousands of years, humans have been getting better and better at manipulating our world.

We change it to suit our needs, and at our best, we do so in such a way as to minimize

our own impact.

We turned inedible wild plants into edible crops by crossbreeding them, creation of genetic

hybrids, and got better and better at that until today when we have supermarkets full

of lush, delicious, nutritious produce.

We've even gone so far where we can edit individual genes and make those crops resist pests

without insecticides.

Many inlands ravaged by famine, and even thrive with less water, reducing agricultural

runoff and pollution.

But almost incomprehensibly, the better we get at producing cleaner food with a smaller

...