Published: Tuesday, July 8, 2014 at 18:17 PM.

Genetic engineering is such a polarizing topic that it is hard to have an even-handed debate of the issue.

Some opponents of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, spread false claims about safety while ignoring the vast amount of research to the contrary.

That frustrates University of Florida researchers who have made advances in genetic engineering that might provide benefits in fighting crop diseases and reducing the need for pesticides if they could get beyond public misconceptions.

University of Florida researchers have taken a gene found in bell peppers and transferred it to tomatoes. The process has made tomatoes that are resistant to a particularly troublesome crop disease and have a higher yield.

Contrary to scare stories about so-called Frankenfoods, these methods represent a more technologically advanced way of doing the kind of crop breeding that has been happening for millennia.

But tomato growers worry they wouldnt be able to sell a GMO product, hampering the ability of researchers to attract investors.

People are afraid, they dont understand why, they are just told they should be, said Sam Hutton, a UF plant scientist involved in the research. The anti-GMO crowd screams really loud, and there is a lot of fearmongering. It sounds bad to people who dont understand the science.

Other GMOs being developed at the University of Florida include a strawberry that can be grown without fungicides. A researcher involved in that effort observed that the crop likely wont go beyond the lab without a change in public attitudes.

You have solutions that can help the environment, help farmers and help people in the developing world, and you cant use it, said Ken Folta, professor and chairman of the universitys Horticultural Sciences Department.

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Editorial: Fanning the fears on genetics issues