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NL888 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Is it proper to make GMOs as the abbreviation of "genetically modified crops" ?

Should it be GMCs?

Context:

Yes indeed, most Americans do eat GMOs every day!
    1. Maarten J. Chrispeels
      2. Article first published online: 15 JAN 2014
      While teaching a course on Crop Biotechnology at Huazhong Agricultural University (Wuhan, Hubei Province, China) this past October, I was asked by one of my students if it is true that American farmers grow genetically modified crops (GMOs) only for export, and that GMO-foods are not sold in the USA. The student implied that Americans thought that such crops were “good enough” for developing countries but not good enough for themselves.
Americans have been eating GMO-foods for 17 years
      Needless to say, I was dumbfounded by this question because Americans have been eating GMO foods since 1996 and I could not imagine where this idea came from. By asking around, I discovered that this information is publicized extensively by TV personalities and on social media. Apparently, several Chinese reporters traveled to the US and enquired in supermarkets whether they sold GMOs, whether people knew that they were eating GMOs and whether they were for or against GMOs in the human food chain. They received variable answers, of course. Some Americans don't care, many don't know and some object to eating GMOs. Some opinion polls show that many Americans would like GMO-containing foods to be labeled. However, it is known that people's answers to questions in opinion polls are highly dependent on how the questions are posed and whether an explanation is given before the question is asked (PEW
2013
      ). According to a 2006 study carried out by the PEW Charitable Trusts, 58% of Americans were unaware that they were eating foods with GMO-derived ingredients. Somehow, the “research” done by the Chinese reporters who came to America was asserted so often and so widely distributed that it became the “urban legend” that Americans do not eat GMOs. As a scientist who has been involved with the GMO issue for 15 years, I can state quite categorically that most Americans eat GMO-derived foods nearly every day! Furthermore, Americans have been eating GMO foods for 17 years, so far with no ill effects as far as we know.
  

Top answer

org/wiki/Genetically_modified_organism is fine. What is not OK is to suggest that the letters stand for 'genetically modified crops'.

— Fivejedjon

  • org/wiki/Genetically_modified_organism is fine.
  • What is not OK is to suggest that the letters stand for 'genetically modified crops'.
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4 Answers
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_organism is fine. What is not OK is to suggest that the letters stand for 'genetically modified crops'.
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Technically, Genetic Modified Organism ( GMO) is not the same as genetically modified crop which can be abbreviated as GMC and should be written in upper-case letters.
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Genetic Modified Organism ( GMO) is alright.
For the case "genetically modified crops (GMOs)", the author made a mistake?
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NL888the author made a mistake?
Maarten J. Chrispeels is a Professor of Biological Sciences at Monsanto; a biotechnology company. I can't assume what his thought process was when he wrote that article. But GMO-food is understood as "foods produced with and by crops which have their genes genetically modified.
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