Blah, blah, blah, GMO. Blah, GMO, blah, blah, blah. A friend recently told me that “GMO” has become a buzzword to her, something she tunes out when she sees it come across her computer screen. It was when she saw Robyn O’Brien’s TEDxAustin video that it kind of clicked for her. Banned in so many other countries? Potentially causing disease? Making us sick? If you live in the USA, these scientifically altered crops are in the food you eat and you might not even know it. Buzz word or not, it’s time we all started paying attention. So what exactly is a GM seed? GM seeds (also called ‘GMO’ – genetically modified organisms – and ‘transgenic’) are often confused with hybrid seeds. In fact, some people claim that hybridization is just another form of genetic modification. Not exactly. In a nutshell, here’s the difference: Non-hybrid seeds (think: heirloom or open pollinated varieties) can be saved and replanted from year to year and the resulting fruit remains “true to seed.” In other words, that funny little tomato you remember from grandma’s garden? If you planted seeds saved from that tomato, you’d get the same fruit today. Hybrid seeds are the product of cross-breeding two...
