User reviews

Like most criticisms of GMOs, this film makes a number of arguments that abuse science and twist economics. I have some concerns about the loss of biodiversity that modern agribusiness begets, the legal framework surrounding engineered seeds, etc., but so far the evidence indicates that GMO crops are safe to consume (which isn't to say that no GMO seed could ever be unsafe) and it's clear that genetic modifications have dramatically increased crop yields, lifting countless people out of poverty and preventing countless people in poverty from experiencing hunger or starvation. The filmmaker didn't seem to understand the benefits of GMOs or the economics of agriculture. On the other hand, he did seem to let the number of farmers that he interviewed, who had a variety of perspectives, speak for themselves. I found their comments, whether pro-GMO, anti-GMO or ambivalent, very worthwhile.

I don't think that the filmmaker really got it on the issue and I wouldn't recommend that anyone watch the film as their sole exposure to the GMO issue, but people who are interested in such things could probably, if they're balancing the film out with resources of other perspectives, find value in it.

OOOOO--WHEE! There are just some very passionate reviewers around here. I gave this one a good 24 hours to simmer before writing this. First off, I'm going to review the documentary, not do what most of the 1-star reviewers do and spout off about how GMO fears are all a hoax. My rating of GMO OMG is low because I felt our friendly narrator here exploited his children to tell his story. Seifert is new to making documentaries and while he creates some pretty pictures, they're a little too sentimental for his narrative. He's brave for taking on this subject and one can wonder if all these 1-star reviews are not part of some corporate public relations department's retaliation.

My soap box is: that if GMOs are so safe, then what's the big deal about labeling them? Labels give people the CHOICE to decide what they put in their bodies. (Though now labels don't really even matter because GMOs are in everything, so, moving on…)

Jeremy Seifert's documentary GMO OMG has a strong approach to its subject matter, stringing along a thesis of a father's concern for the health and wellbeing of his two young children. Seifert explains his son's love for collecting seeds and his fascination that something so big and impacting on a person's life emerges from something so tiny. Seifert then states how he went on to learn about genetically- modified organisms (GMOs), which are manipulations to agriculture in order to increase the longevity and sustainability of crops. Immediately, he breaks down the information to two key types of GMOs, which are "pesticide producers" and "herbicide resistors." The former occurs when a crop is injected with a special chemical that allows it to produce a toxin to kill off invasive insects, while the former occurs when a crop is made immune to weed killer, allowing it to be entirely submerged in widely-distributed fertilizer and still remain unharmed.

This prompts concern for Seifert as a father and, well, a consumer, as he begins to question the contents of everything he is eating. Because the presence and use of GMOs need not be labeled on food in America, it brings question as to whether or not the common phrase of "all natural" holds any leverage. On top of that, what are the effects of GMOs on the human body in the long run? If they are safe and harmless, what's the issue in labeling them? Have we all become involuntary participants in a large, global experiment at the expense of humongous seed corporations?

Such questions are either directly or indirectly peddled by the documentary, and its big point of attack goes in the direction of Monsanto, one of the largest seed/chemical manufacturers in the world. Monsanto kickstarts a lot of farms and agriculture by forcing farmers to trade their natural seeds in order to use the exclusive Monsanto seeds. The company made headlines following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, when it sent over four-hundred tons of seeds to their community, gifting the seeds and allowing them to use them only if the country agreed to stop using their own natural seed. The Haitian community saw this as a backhanded attempt at kindness, as the natural seed holds immense importance in the country, and Monsanto's genetically-modified seed seemed far less attractive.

Seifert persists on to show the impact of Monsanto, through colorful, legible graphs, along with batting off startling statistics. For one, eighty perfect of all processed foods contain GMOs, with eight-five and ninety-one percent of corn and soy being genetically-modified as well. About one-hundred and sixty-five acres in the United States contain genetically-modified crops with about four-hundred and twenty acres housing them all over the world. One of the most alarming things presented in the film is how farms with non-GMO crops are affected negatively by those bearing GMOs. When crops are injected with special chemicals, they shed or bear the chemicals, and when the wind blows, spread the chemicals to other locations. Non-GMO farms in close proximity with GMO farms are often affected by the latter's unintentional spread of chemicals, allowing tests for the quality of the crops to become skewed, which are then met with repercussions from Monsanto's legal team.

Seifert presents all of this to us in a way that, while sometimes too hardened on statistical data, is digestible and easy to follow, especially given the fact that, judging to the beginning of the film, few know what GMOs are and where they can be found. Whether you support the use of genetically-modified organisms and see no harm in it, or find they're an abhorrent route for mankind to make an attempt to "play God," as Seifert bills it in the film, I don't see a harm in wanting to know the health effects of something found in an overwhelming majority of the foods we eat. This is part of the reason I enjoy Seifert's approach to the subject matter, as it forms a thoughtful outline and conversation.

What I didn't enjoy, however, was Seifert's rapid descent into negativity over GMOs, which seemed to happen all too quickly. From the beginning, we see a concerned father wanting to get to the bottom of what's in his food. By the half hour mark, we can see Seifert has clearly taken the pathway to being against the use of GMOs, which is fine if the film had started out by taking that stance rather than trying to travel down the middle of the road. Once Seifert starts digging into the potential harms of GMOs, he never revisits or adheres to what one thought he would in the beginning of the film, which is a fair analysis of both sides. In an age where prolific fact-checking has made every documentary at least questionably authentic, GMO OMG would've benefited from an equal examination not only for intellectual purposes but for consistency purposes as well.

Yet, it's sophomoric to dismiss GMO OMG has a film with no substance or thought-provoking questions whatsoever. Seifert gets almost philosophical and contemplative when he talks about the pervasive patenting and trademarking of seeds and wildlife that is occurring with big seed corporations like Monsanto, Du Point, and Syngenta, saying these companies are in a "race to own the building blocks of life." He questions the ethical behavior of corporations - in a way that's very popular right now - about their evasive ways to avoid questioning on the GMOs used in their products in a way that would lead any reasonable person to assume there is something to hide. The only detractor to GMO OMG is that Seifert picks a side far too easily and, in turn, compromises hope for a mostly-unbiased analysis.

Directed by: Jeremy Seifert.

It tires. It kind of does.

You see, Big Bird is conspiring against us. I mean, Big Oil. I mean, Big Pharma. I mean, Big Agro. No, no. It really is Bid Bird. It's out to get you.

The propaganda piece that is this "documentary" documents nothing but the collective hallucinations of a sector of the first-world population.

They have never been hungry. They don't have any comprehension of what it means to be hungry, really hungry, the kind of hunger that bends you over. The kind of hunger that starts when you have eaten absolutely nothing for three or four days.

They have only seen hungry children on TV, "brown" children, always safely far, far away from them. They have never seen their own children be hungry, much less, die of hunger.

But they feel entitled to play with their food and yours. And to make ugly faces and reject this and that from their diet because of their political beliefs. They are picky. They are also entitled to criminalize other people's diets and to fabricate stories about food they don't approve of. They are also entitled to forbid you from eating it.

There is no information in this documentary. You will only learn about a delusion. A delusion, by the way, that is killing millions of people every year. Look up vitamin A deficiencies, for example. It's perverse. You and I can protect ourselves from these people. The poor of the world can't.

This is a sweet, funny, beautiful, moving, disturbing and uplifting look at one family's search for answers. Jeremy Seifert, the young filmmaker, takes us on a journey across this country and around the world, and allows us to experience for ourselves he and his family's evolving feelings and reactions as they gather more information about GMOS (Genetically Modified Organisms).

Go see it! In a time when so many problems bombard us and it is so easy to get discouraged and become apathetic, here is someone willing to take two years out of his life to pursue answers to difficult questions. The sincerity of the filmmaker shines through. This is not a propaganda film, although I am sure Monsanto and co will do their best to discredit it as such. It is a film that comes from the heart and goes to the heart. Thank you, Jeremy, for making this!

It took all of 10 minutes for me to start asking "is he going to present any facts, or will this be entirely him making assumptions?" Didn't take long after that for me to start laughing at it. And not much longer after that i just gave up on it. If you're already anti-GMO you'll probably really enjoy this. If you're hoping for information, on the other hand, don't waste your time. He makes claims about GMOs being bad for you, while also saying there's no credible data about GMOs. What? How does that work? The opening of the movie set the tone perfectly: very biased parents trying to protect their kids from all chemical threats. It's one thing if you actually understand what you're afraid of, but it's another to make a documentary claiming that all GMOs are bad when you don't know what your dealing with. At one point, he says he's ready for a fist fight... hopefully he meant to fight off angry viewers who wasted money on this fact deficient propaganda film.

The concerning aspect of genetically modified organisms in food is examined in this surprisingly sweet documentary. Pesticides, herbicides and frankenfoods are unpleasant subjects, but this film softens the blow of bad news about what we eat by using the narrative thread of a father out to find answers about what's in the food he feeds his kids. It was news to me that countries as non-citizen-loving as Russia and China require labeling on GMO food products, while the US does not. With anti-Monsanto marches happening around the country, this film provides a good capsule of information about the GMO issue. The dry science is offset by a range of easy-on-the-eye locations such as Haiti, Norway and France.

This is the stupidest "documentary" I've ever seen. How exactly do interviews with 3 year old kids and long montages of said kids running around contribute to a rational discussion of the GMO debate? He at no point presents any useful information one way or the other. All he does is interview non-experts who provide their opinions on the matter - opinions that are not necessarily based on any facts.

Only one scientific study was presented, from a paper that was later retracted due to widespread criticism from the community. The director indicates that all of the scientists who criticised the paper were somehow linked with the biotech industry, but this would not be enough to force the journal to retract the paper. There had to have been enough independent critics for the journal to have taken it seriously. If you look up Prof Seralini, he is a highly controversial figure in the scientific community. Why were no other scientists interviewed? Could it be that the director only wanted to interview people who supported his point of view?

This is basically just a bunch of ignorant, ill-informed, anti-science scaremongering and it makes me disgusted to think that there might be people out there who actually think this is a valid presentation of the GMO debate.

Honest, compelling, disturbing, and very very real, GMO OMG takes you on a journey that you will never, and should never forget. Jeremy shares the most valuable and beautiful part of his life with us, his family. Together we journey around the country, taking a very real look at our farming industry, the food we eat, and just how serious our food problems have gotten. I felt with them, the loss of innocence, and spiritual malady we are all suffering from. Not only because we allow huge biochemical companies like Monsanto to use us and our children as the test subjects for their experimental foods, but because we never stopped to wonder what was in our food in the first place. We talk about how the world has changed, and how much better, safer, and more family and love centered it used to be, but we still trust the food on the shelves without so much as a glance at the label. We have lost touch, as a society, with the most basic thing in our lives; our food. Jeremy and his family give us a much needed reality check, and they do so with love. There is nothing but peace in what he does. That kind of soulfulness is rare, and important. we will need it, going forward, as we take back our food, our health, and our right to know. Please watch this film. Share it with those you love, and be well. -Dana Kay Wyrick

A huge disappointment. Failed to provide a balanced argument about the GMO. Arguments were based in fear mongering with his innocent children as his marionettes. Failed to consult any science professionals. He states early on in the film that there are two types of GMOs. It takes a very minimal amount of research to realize that there a plethora of GMOs beyond the two he mentioned...Nutritional fortified sweet potatoes to ameliorate malnourishment or disease resistant GMO to increase yields in underperforming landscapes, and this list is by no means exhaustive. There is a clear oversight of anything remotely scientific in his arguments. There is something to be said about the fact that the majority of peer reviewed literature focused on the topic of genetically modified organisms are in their defense. I am not speaking from the perspective of a corporate sponsor rather from a concerned global citizen who fears for the future of growing populations that deserves to be fed.

I had no idea why GMO was a big fuss until I watched this documentary. It clearly explained what a GMO is, how it was introduced,the history, and the problems we face today with the farmers and Monsanto specifically. The narrator interviewed both sides so that you could hear the other side's argument. It is a bit one sided, but the narrator wants to make a point. The experts at Monsanto refused any interviews. The interviews he did with his kids were not to be taken seriously. They were to show what children think of GMO and their understanding. It upsets me that organic farmers have been forced to buy Monsanto's seeds because Monsanto threatened to sue them. The overall movie was very informational, and I recommend watching it before judging.

This is honestly one of the stupidest documentaries I've seen recently.

The reporter makes it very clear that he doesn't understand the difference between GMO and organic foods, which is quite worrying when he is presenting his view on GM foods. He also seems to think that if a fish eats GM soy in a fish pellet then the fish itself is genetically modified.

He constantly tells us that there are no peer reviewed studies on the safety of GMO foods - although there are, in fact, over 2,000 peer reviewed studies... none of which have found any evidence that GMOs are harmful in anyway to humans.

We are told that modifying crops is something we have never done before and the reporter asks a farmer what he thinks God would make of this "new" technology. Leaving aside the God aspect, modifying food is nothing new at all - humans have been doing it since the beginning of agriculture. The only thing that is new is the techniques being used.

At one point we are told of a single study that claims organic farming methods can produce higher crop yields than conventional methods, despite this result being contrary to every other piece of research and despite organic not being the same as GMO.

This "documentary" is very one-sided and ignores great swathes of evidence. It's said that if all the world's experts agree on a topic then a layman should probably take their word for it. In the case of GMOs health groups across the world agree that GMOs are safe to eat and safe for the environment - this documentary is simple scaremongering.

This documentary is god awful. Don't be fooled by the quaint indie score or the silly smiles the narrator makes in the film. This documentary is completely full of lies that half an hour of research can easily disprove.

Let me first make clear that despite the film's claim that there are 0 peer reviewed there are over 2000 that show that either GMOs are no more harmful than organic crops or are even better. His Haiti stuff is such a disgusting desperate attempt at an emotional appeal. You're dealing with a populace that has no idea about the science of GMOs and the leader of the movement claims that there are health harms and severe economic and environmental harms. The only one of those claims that is remotely true is environmental harms, which is part of his decrease in biodiversity claim and the increase in herbicides. Those claims are true, but biodiversity impact is extremely exaggerated and he doesn't understand the difference between herbicide and pesticide. Pesticides ARE in the seeds, but they have been Proved to be unharmful to humans.

Next, I'd like to discuss his conflation of Monsanto and GMOs. While Monsanto is the biggest manufacturer of GMOs, they are not the same thing. Some of their business practices are controversial, namely their 1 harvest "terminator seeds" (there's a difference, Monsanto doesn't sell terminator seeds, but their patent makes farmers rebuy which is what they mean to refer to in the film). While the vast majority of farmers restock after every harvest anyway, I understand the concern. However, we must understand that the practices of GMO companies do not mean GMOs are bad, it means the company's practices are bed. On the topic of Monsanto, please take the time to research Monsanto lawsuits and you'll understand how stupid and ignorant his claims are. And the reason Monsanto spends so much to stop labeling is BS propaganda like this film. As he proved right after demonizing Monsanto for this, when people find out their eating GMOs they get scared even though they clearly are just finding out what GMO means. It's not that they know their products are bad, it's that people think they're bad despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Lastly and perhaps the most bothersome part of this movie for me (above his gross Haiti and WWII appeal, his mangling of statistics, the conflation of issues, and just straight out lying) is the way he treats his children. The kids grow up being fed BS propaganda by their insane father. Whenever he leaves, they obviously enjoy the foods and again the health harms he claims will hurt the kids when their older have no scientific basis. He forces his kids to hold up the GMO signs and scares them into believing propaganda, which is so freaking disgusting to watch. It makes me sick.

I have to leave you guys with a suggestion: DO SOME RESEARCH into this guys claims. I researched GMOs in depth for a year and it's horrible to watch this guy fooling so many people. Let it be know that I am extremely liberal meaning I identify with an ideology that largely takes the side of the narrator, but I'm a liberal, because I believe things that are factual. In the same way Gay Marriage has no credible evidence to support it leads to bestiality as many claim; in the same way there's no evidence to support that the war on drugs has stopped drug use at all; there's no evidence to support that GMOs are more harmful to your health than non-GMOs. Do research, I beg of you.

First off, I think the whole GMO 'debate'has been over-simplified. The prominent issue many of us have with GMOs is with seeds that are being modified in order to be bombarded with poison(s). The argument that this will feed all the worlds starving population is simply ludicrous and short sighted. This 'food shortage' other reviewers speak of is a fallacy, we have a MASSIVE ALLOCATION problem one in which all the roundup they make will not solve, ever. To say that that GMO will fix this is ridiculous, open your eyes and realize everything is about profits. Feeding starving people is not profitable, period. Feeding the insane amounts of cattle in North America (where BTW all that GMO corn goes to) well now that is. So next time one wants to argue that roundup ready seeds will feed the world, stop and do a bit of research, you will find out where all that corn and grain is actually going.I promise you that it is not going to feed the starving population that you speak of. As many people have stated, GMOs have been around forever...so if this is the solution to end world hunger then why are so many people still going hungry? We make more than enough food to feed everyone and this is a fact. Soon this will no longer be the case though, if we continue on this path our bee populations will continue to dwindle and no one will be able to grow anything. The fact that even Pixar and children know this and naysayers don't, would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

There simply is not enough room on here to address the issues but if you want to believe that roundup ready is nutritious and healthy, I feel sorry for you and your ignorance. I feel for our planet and all the destruction that these chemicals cause. Hopefully my younger generation (who sees things VERY differently than the boomers)will be able to affect change...one has to hope.

Even your own president would rather eat organic produce, how that doesn't say something to you is beyond belief.

I thought this doc was an eye opener for the common man. After all the common man is the one who is the one who is consuming the food at the end of the food chain. Many of the reviewers here complain and question the qualification of the producer which I don't understand. Why should a person be qualified when he asking simple questions about what we put in our body? Why is GMO banned in different countries around the world but it's not even labeled as such here in the US?

The documentary presented the facts about food which we eat in our daily lives. And it raised questions about how it is slowly impacting our body. I disagree with reviewers who are saying this is not credible enough because the filmmaker is not a scientist or considered a "professional" in the field, or that it's too biased. The filmmaker does not himself have to be a scientist or a "professional in the field" to create a credible product, so long as it is well- researched and well-produced, and it is. The documentary was meant to be (as just about every other documentary is meant to be) thought-provoking and inspirational, and it was, definitely.

I highly recommend it to anyone looking to find out more info on the subject of GMOs, and if you are disappointed that there wasn't more info provided, maybe do some independent research on the reports and articles mentioned? This doc isn't supposed to be the only source of information on the subject, there's lot's to read and watch. Definitely a great starting point though, for sure!

A very interesting and well done inquiry into GMO'S. I enjoyed this documentary and found it certainly opened up my mind to new perspectives, but it lacked (though it admitted to this) a wide variety of facts. I also found that it could have benefited from more testimonies from companies (such as Monsanto) themselves, and the videos and recordings showing him being turned away weren't quite enough for me. I think the documentary producers could have used different tactics (ie. specify they were there for a documentary??) rather than just showing up outside the door and asking questions. A good place to get ideas, though further research from this place is undoubtedly necessary.

Obviously, this documentary uses emotions and children too much, and therefore it is not a masterpiece. But still, I must laugh over these super negative and personal reviews here. Are these people paid by Monsanto etc., or brainwashed by these companies already?

Monsanto, as any other corporate company, do not care about people, environment or the future of humans and nature. We have created the system when companies care only, but only, about own profit and never-ending profit growth for its shareholders. GMO itself does not have to be bad, but our capitalism without regulations and limits allows to exploit it in the worst possible way, killing nature and even people. Ask about BT cotton in underdeveloped countries as well, pretty interesting things are happening there!

Was hoping for some good information but all you get is opinions and worst case scenario based on nothing. How anyone could give this a 10 is beyond me. Considering humans have been engineering food for 1000's of years, they make is sound like this is a new thing.