To: U.S. FDA

GMO Mushrooms are not worth it

Cutting up complex genetic material is a risky game -- and for what? In the case of whiter mushrooms, it's just not worth it.

In light of scientific uncertainty about the long-term health and ecological risks associated with GMOs, we urge you to perform substantial and meaningful safety tests on the CRISPR-edited white button mushrooms. Until those tests are done, these mushrooms should not be approved for sale.

Why is this important?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture just gave the green light to a genetically-modified mushroom that... stays whiter? This is a foolish use of GMO technology, and yet another example of how high-minded GMO rhetoric falls flat in light of more common vanity applications.

Now, the product is headed to the FDA for review. As the agency dedicated to protecting citizens from potentially unhealthy or even dangerous products, the FDA has a responsibility to fully test these mushrooms before they go to market.

Tell the FDA: This genetically-modified mushroom should not be approved for sale until the health and ecological impacts have been fully tested.