Genetically altered crops are made from organisms that have been given specific traits through genetic engineering, unlike similar food organisms developed through the conventional genetic modification of selective breeding (plant breeding and animal breeding) or mutation breeding. Genetically engineered crops are created mostly by gene splicing, in which a crop with a desirable trait is transplanted into another plant and then the crop of plants are breed from there. Genetically altered crops are known as Genetically modified/engineered crops in Europe. However, in the United States the term biotechnology is used instead because genetically modified has too much of a negative connotation. GM crops were first introduced in the 1950's but they were not put on the market until 1995. GM crops are highly controversial due to their unknown health risks; the crops are not tested on humans or animals before they are put in the market so their potential side effects are virtually unknown. With up to 80% of the found in the supermarkets contain at least one ingredient created from genetically engineered crops, not knowing the potential health effects of those food is alarming.

David Blandford, head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, agrees that when it comes to genetic modification of crops, consumers need to balance risks with advantages. Some of the evidence we've seen recently shows an increasing concern in the U.S. about genetically modified foods, he says. As consumers become more educated and more affluent, they are becoming increasingly concerned about the quality of food products and issues associated with food production.

One of the biggest controversies within the GM food debate is a labeling system. The FDA does not require any state in the U.S. to label genetically modified or genetically engineered food. What's worse is that the FDA does not want GM for to be labeled. When the state of Oregon wanted to pass a measure this past November that would require all genetically modified foods sold in the state to be labeled, the FDA sent the governor a letter of warning stating that if passed the measure would impermissibly interfere with manufactures’ ability to market their products on a nationwide basis. The FDA is aware that there is a strong opposition amongst Americans towards GM food. A 2008 CBS/New York Times poll showed that 53% of Americans will not buy genetically modified or engineered food. And this opposition is no recent development. A Pew Initiative study done in 2003 found that 89% of people believe the FDA should not allow genetically modified foods on the market until they're proven safe. So you would think with such strong opposition against genetically modified food the government and FDA would either decrease the sale of genetically modified food or increase the information and studies on GM food. However, this is not the case. Instead the FDA simply stopped publishing data in 2005 (a popular action taken by the Bush administration when faced with data that made them look bad) on genetically modified food. Thus the American public has to rely on old information and periodic news sources for GM food information.