ShopTalk: Lab-grown AND non-GMO

Dear Abigail,

How can Christie’s Cranial Delights be both lab-grown and non-GMO? That seems like a contradiction.

Sincerely,
Skeptical Susan

Dear Susan,

GMOs are manufactured to grow in extreme climates and to withstand pesticides. They’re usually grown in a field. Lab-grown means that the product was manufactured in a laboratory environment. Genetic modification is not required to grow tissue in a lab.

Christie’s has informed me that they use a combination of stem-cell technology and 3D printing to create their brains, and that the genome has not been altered in any way.

I hope this helps!