Q: I ate a Honeycrisp apple that was not organic so I’m assuming it’s probably GMO. Seeds inside had tiny sprouts so I planted to see what would happen. Will these produce fruit that is GMO?

A: I know of only two genetically modified organism (GMO) apples. ‘Arctic Gold and ‘Arctic Granny’ were developed with a GMO process to have non-browning flesh. I very much doubt your Honeycrisp is genetically modified. Your apple seedlings will develop normally.

In a larger sense, it is difficult to avoid food that doesn’t come from GMO plants. The majority of the U.S. soybean and corn crops is grown from varieties bio-engineered to resist disease and increase yields. High fructose corn syrup, present in huge numbers of foodstuffs, likely was manufactured from GMO corn.