In one of his first public appearances since leaving the White House, former President Barack Obama opened up about his views on GMOs and gene-edited food — topics he shied away from during his eight years in office.
After a quick $3.26 million speech at the Seeds & Chips Global Food Innovation Summit in Milan, Italy on May 9, Obama fielded questions from Sam Kass, his former White House chef. Kass said that he believes gene-editing is the emerging technology with the biggest potential to transform how we eat by enhancing nutrition, reducing water needs, and more.
“And it’s cheap and easy,” he added, before asking Obama for his thoughts on gene-edited food.
“This debate around genetically modified foods is, I know, a very controversial one,” Obama responded. “The approach that I took when I was President of the United States is in the same way that I would let the science determine my policies around climate change. I try to let the science determine my attitudes about food production and new technologies.”
“The truth is humanity has always engaged in genetic modifications” he added. “The rice we eat or the corn we eat or the wheat we eat does not look like what corn or rice or wheat looked like 1,000 years ago.”
Source: geneticliteracyproject.org