Gene edited pork is legal as of this week. You’re holding two packages of bacon. Identical price. Identical appearance. One package contains pork with DNA tweaked in a lab using CRISPR. The other doesn’t. Health Canada says both are safe, so neither gets labeled. Pick one. You literally cannot tell the difference by taste, smell, or sight. That’s not a food safety issue. That’s a trust issue.

The industry position: labeling creates fear when the product is safe, so why bother? Counter position: the GMO wars of the 90s happened because they hid it first, then fought the “frankenfood” accusations later. Transparency could have prevented that. This is the same playbook. Gene edited crops (apples, tomatoes) have existed for years without backlash. But Canadians feel differently about animals. Something about legs and living beings triggers unease.

Organic producers already know what happens next. They’ll label their meat “not gene edited” and charge premium prices. Everything else converts silently. The front-of-package warning labels just went on sodium and saturated fat to protect you. Gene edited meat gets nothing because it’s deemed safe. Safety and trust aren’t the same thing.

Topics: gene edited pork, CRISPR technology, food labeling, consumer transparency, organic meat

GUEST: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois | @‌foodprofessor

Originally aired on2026-01-29