Newsletter: Opinion: It’s Fourth of July weekend. Sit back, relax and enjoy some good old-fashioned genetically modified BBQ.

Happy Independence Day weekend, everyone. This is Matthew Fleischer, digital editor of The Times Opinion section, filling in for Paul Thornton.

It’s that glorious time of year when a cold refreshing drink should never leave your hand — unless of course it’s to grab something hot off the grill, or a fresh ear of corn slathered in butter. But if you’re planning on heading to your local organic grocery store to stock up on expensive pesticide-free produce for your holiday barbecue, you may just want to save yourself the time and money. Organic food isn’t only expensive, it actually can be more dangerous than its conventional counterparts.

At least that’s op-ed contributor and molecular biologist Henry Miller’s take. A firm believer that agricultural technology — including genetic modification — has made us safer, Miller wonders why “anyone thinks that using raw manure as a fertilizer — in essence, spreading feces on food plants — produces healthier food?”

The truth is that paying the “organic tax” — the price premium associated with organic products — makes you no healthier. Recalls of organic foods amounted to 7% of all food units recalled in 2015, even though organic farms account for only about 1% of agricultural acreage. In early June, several types of Clif Bars were recalled from stores because they contained organic sunflower kernels potentially contaminated with a bacterium called listeria. Food poisoning from this nasty bug kills hundreds of Americans every year.

Fortunately, the problem was detected before anyone was sickened by the Clif Bars or other affected organic snacks that were made by Kashi and Bear Naked, both subsidiaries of Kellogg. These products all contained seeds from SunOpta, which describes itself as a “leading global company focused on organic, nongenetically modified (“non-GMO”) and specialty foods.”

A similar sort of karmic revenge struck Chipotle Mexican Grill last year. The fast-food restaurant chain had sought to gain market share with ads that vilified conventional agriculture and boldly proclaimed its move toward “no GMO” ingredients. But the company proved more adept at marketing than safe-food preparation, and about 60 customers in 20 states were sickened by norovirus or bacteria (E. coli and salmonella). Twenty were hospitalized.

The superior safety and environmental benefits of food made from genetically engineered plants have been proved over decades. Many genetically engineered crops resist insects and contamination with dangerous fungal toxins such as mycotoxins. And unlike new crop varieties modified with less precise, less predictable techniques that are permitted in organic agriculture, genetically engineered crops all have been exhaustively tested and are subject to government regulation.

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Organic or conventional, who doesn’t love a good BBQ? Op-ed contributor Robin Rauzi, that’s who. At least not in Los Angeles, where it seems like if you don’t accommodate every dietary restriction in the known universe, you aren’t just a horrible host, you’re a bad person. L.A. Times

Nearly every great city has a vibrant, iconic river flowing through its midst. Los Angeles has the iconic part of the river down, but perhaps not so much the vibrant. On her podcast, Patt Morrison wonders whether starchitect Frank Gehry can help liberate the L.A. River from its concrete prison. L.A. Times

Speaking of prison, no one wants to see a violent criminal get off with a slap on the wrist — particularly one guilty of a crime as heinous as sexual assault. But outrage doesn’t make for good public policy. The Times’ editorial board cautions that a headline-grabbing effort by California lawmakers to pass rapid legislation in the wake of the Brock Turner sexual assault case has all the makings of a disaster. L.A. Times

Boycotts can be powerful tools in pursuit of social justice. Just think back to the multinational effort to end apartheid in South Africa. Los Angeles’ boycott of Arizona over its immigration policies on the other hand … didn’t work out quite as well. L.A. Times

Finally, the Pentagon announced this week that transgender people will finally be able to serve openly in the armed forces — a move that is potentially more impactful than you might suspect. Though transgender Americans represent only 0.3% of the population, they serve their country at a rate more than twice that of the general population. L.A. Times

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