Thirty years ago, proponents of new genetically engineered food crops made bold claims that the lab-created foods would help to “feed the world,” create more nutritious foods, increase crop yields, and reduce pesticide use, among other bold claims.

Thirty years later, those claims remain unfulfilled. The two most common GMO crops are herbicide/glyphosate-tolerant soybeans and insect resistant corn. Neither of those crops are providing increased nutrition to consumers. They have failed to increase crop yields. The use of pesticides, particularly glyphosate herbicide, has increased by an estimated 404 million pounds. The majority of GMO corn and soybeans are used for animal feed, not human food, so the claim of feeding the world has also proven to be false.

Today, similar claims are being made about the next generation of GMOs, those produced by gene editing and synthetic biology. An article in National Geographic states that gene editing: “has the potential to change the foods we eat every day, boosting flavor, disease resistance, and yields, and even tackling allergens like gluten.”