US will label GMO foods with smiley faces and sunshine
The USDA says consumers don’t need to know if food has been modified using CRISPR.
Why now: A 2016 law gave the agricultural agency the job of deciding how to label foods that contain GMOs (genetically modified organisms), so that consumers know about them.
The document: On May 3, the agency released a 106-page National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard. The public has two months to comment on the proposal.
The small print: Foods containing GMOs will be henceforth be labelled “BE,” “bioengineered,” or even “may be bioengineered.” Because, really, who can tell anymore? More than 90 percent of US corn and soybeans is genetically modified already, mostly to resist herbicide sprays and insects.
Good vibes: The agency proposed a variety of smiley-face labels companies can use (they can also employ a QR code instead). The standards pre-empt a Vermont law that had food makers labeling their products “produced with genetic engineering.”
Gene-editing exemption: The labeling rules don’t apply if genetic engineers use CRISPR to alter plant DNA in ways that mimic “conventional breeding” or can be “found in nature.” According to the US government, that doesn’t qualify as bioengineering.
Deep Dive
Biotechnology

The gene-edited pig heart given to a dying patient was infected with a pig virus
The first transplant of a genetically-modified pig heart into a human may have ended prematurely because of a well-known—and avoidable—risk.

Saudi Arabia plans to spend $1 billion a year discovering treatments to slow aging
The oil kingdom fears that its population is aging at an accelerated rate and hopes to test drugs to reverse the problem. First up might be the diabetes drug metformin.

Anti-aging drugs are being tested as a way to treat covid
Drugs that rejuvenate our immune systems and make us biologically younger could help protect us from the disease’s worst effects.

Why China is still obsessed with disinfecting everything
Most public health bodies dealing with covid have long since moved on from the idea of surface transmission. China’s didn’t—and that helps it control the narrative about the disease’s origins and danger.
Stay connected

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.