One of my favorite episodes of the television show, "The Simpsons", begins with Marge, the mother, serving her family a dinner of unusually large, genetically modified foods. Shortly after dinner is served, one of the potatoes eats a carrot. Although this example is comedic hyperbole, it is still an excellent illustration of the public perception of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as dangerous "Frankenfoods". This perception is out of touch with the reality of GMOs and runs contrary to a large body of scientific evidence that indicates that GMOs are safe for people and our environment.

In this paper I will be focusing my attention on foods modified to produce a certain insecticidal protein known as Bt. I have to do this mostly for brevity. To discuss in detail all of the types GMOs in production or slated for production could easily fill a paper ten times as long...