It is perfectly reasonable for consumers to demand to know what is in their food and where it came from, but simply slapping GMO stickers on cereal boxes is not rational, and does the world a disservice, particularly the several billion people who experience routine starvation.

As (mostly well-fed) representatives of humankind, we in this public debate need to get beyond anecdotes and colloquialisms to the heart of the matter – how to sustainably feed 9 billion people by 2050. Let us promote informed public discussions, preferably with scientific experts who dedicate their lives to rational understanding of biology. Biotechnology, 'GMO' or not, will likely have a very important role in mitigating the strong negative environmental effects of climate change, industrial pollution, and overpopulation, for which we are all culpable. Let us not flippantly write it off with emotional catch-phrases.