Ethonomic Indicator of the Day: 93% of U.S. soybeans are genetically modified.

Frankenfood! It's the evil-sounding name given to genetically modified crops by organic enthusiasts fearful that altering nature's design will result in irreparable damage to either the environment or our bodies. And there is a good chance that they're right. The fight against GM crops has been intensifying of late, with the USDA approving modified alfalfa [2] early this year, despite protests from big organic [3] (which might be less worried about the potential risks and mostly worried about their organic certification). Because a cow that eats GM alfalfa is no longer organic, no matter how it was raised, and GM alfalfa has the extra ability to spread like kudzu--even to places where it's not supposed to be, like an adjacent field of original-gene alfalfa.

But these fights should not give the impression that we are about to step over a precipice into a world full of GM crops. We did that in 1996. See this chart from the USDA [4]:

That's right. Nearly 100% of all soybeans grown in the U.S. are genetically modified to resist weed-killers that used to also kill the soybeans along with the weeds. And Bt cotton and corn--which have had genes from a soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis jammed inside them to help them resist insects--both comprise about three-quarters of all the acreage of that crop.

The era of the frankenfood is already here. If it turns out to be a devastating problem, it may be already too late. Take a look at your lunch today--corn syrup, anyone?--you've likely ingested some modified strands of corn DNA. How are you feeling? Better question: How will you be feeling in 50 years? 

Follow Fast Company on Twitter [5]. Morgan Clendaniel can be reached by email [6] or on Twitter [7].

[Top image via the Noun Project [8]]