Dieting trends come and go, but these days they tend to stress cutting back on foods high in carbohydrates. For many dieters, of course, cutting out such much-loved, familiar and comforting foods is a challenge.

But what if I told you that you could eat a big bowl of pasta, pile of mashed potatoes or slice of just-out-of-the-oven bread without consuming many carbohydrates? What if that bowl of pasta was nutritionally equal to eating something with a low-carb count? You’d think I was crazy, right?

It isn’t crazy. It’s possible. Food manufacturers are already working on this carbohydrate conundrum. There are some noodle substitutes available, but they all have drawbacks, and don’t really mimic noodles in texture and taste.

Luckily, another option is on the horizon. Plant scientists are working to alter the starch structure of certain plants so that carbohydrate-rich foods — such as potatoes, corn and rice — have a greater resistance to digestion. This would effectively lower the carb count of many foods, while making it more nutritious and healthier for the colon and gut. This simple alteration not

only can help with weight loss, but has the potential to help diabetics better control their glycemic levels and reduce blood insulin and fat absorption.

This sounds revolutionary, but the process is really nothing new. Scientists have been tinkering with the genetics of food for decades. They’ve found a way to make corn more durable to pests and weeds. Their research has helped farmers reduce the need for agrochemicals.

The Hawaiian papaya can still be found in the grocery store thanks to a modification of its genes that allows it to withstand an aggressive disease threatening to wipe it out. There’s even a genetically modified apple that retains its fresh color after cutting (which is sure to reduce food waste since brown apples are a turnoff to fussy kids).

Vitamin-fortified rice, tomatoes that contain cancer-fighting agents and potatoes that are more nutritious are just a few of the ways scientists have made our food better.

Making food better ultimately leads to lower prices on food at the grocery store — a positive outcome for all consumers. And all along, scientists have conducted safety tests on these genetically modified crops, consistently finding that, just like traditional breeding methods, they’re perfectly safe.

Yet misinformation about GMOs persists. From vague claims that their ingredients are dangerous to baseless charges that they cause certain diseases, genetically modified organisms are a favorite foil for activists looking to push an agenda.

Sadly, these activists have influential partners in spreading misinformation — an elitist media and wealthy moms who don’t need the benefits (specifically the lower price on food) that GMOs bring to the marketplace.

That’s why it’s time for a new strategy — one that might change the hearts and minds of some of these wealthy, anti-GMO activist-moms and convince them that GMO technology might just do them some good. To do this, plant scientists need to start focusing on vanity, not humanity.

First, plant scientists will need to abandon much of their work — specifically, helping poor farmers in developing nations increase crop yields. Just forget all that research on how to make crops more drought- and pest-resistant; you have a more important task.

Second, plant scientists would stop working to fortify certain crops with vitamins in order help the millions of poor children who suffer from blindness due to vitamin-A deficiency. Those kids will just have to get by.

Third, pharmaceutical companies will need to cease their groundbreaking work to develop genetically engineered bacteria as cancer-fighting agents. Cancer patients will just need to wait for a non-GMO solution.

With all this extra time, scientist in the biotech field can finally turn their attention to more pressing issues: how to help activist-moms look better in their yoga pants.

Of course, this isn’t a serious proposal. But it should help to illustrate the cruelty and vanity of the anti-GMO elite.

And who knows? Maybe after a big bowl of low-carb spaghetti and an ice cream sundae, activist-moms would reconsider their objections to the lifesaving technology they seek to deny those in need.

Julie Gunlock is a writer in Washington, DC, and a senior fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum.