You have the power to label GMOs
At this site you will find action items and ways you can get involved with getting GMO labelling on the ballot in California in 2012. This will hopefully be the beginning of a nationwide effort to do what Europe did years ago due to citizen action. Labelling GMOs in our food will give us a choice in what we purchase and what we consume. Of course, Monsanto and the biotech lobby have its money, big guns and political connections, but we the consumer have the power of the purse and the voices to drown them out and it is time we used them.
We also need to continue to report about the implications of foisting this onto our environment without the proper testing and with no regulations. Dr. Vandana Shiva is also a heroine to me because of her relentless pursuit of environmental democracy regarding GMOs and sustainability. A monoculture world is not something we should be heading for especially with a growing population and with climate change (biodistress) showing its effects globally. Any one gene trait that shuts off in these organisms that is compromised due to environmental stresses not made part of any testing (scientists have already reported of horizontal gene transfer which is something that is definitely not good science) will have huge ramifications on biodiversity, soil health, the health of all species up the food chain and yield. We could see a famine in that case. Bt toxins have also been discovered through scientific testing to be present in human blood and fetuses, in the gut bacteria of cows, causing sterility in third generation mammals as well as transferring into the wild. To say we have opened a Pandora's Box is an understatement and why I am so relentless regarding studying this.
What will we do when our grandchildren start exhibiting the consequences of our actions based not on looking to the future, but only living for the present? We can most definitely provide for the needs of the world's people by using agroecology and other sustainable agriculture methods (that will also sequester carbon, unlike GMO agriculture being used to feed animals and for biofuel which is cutting down huge swaths of the Amazon and exacerbating climate change), as well as traditional breeding within genuses. As a matter of fact, some companies that started using GM seeds are backing away from them as they see that it has been a failure and being globally rejected, and was/is merely a scheme in league with governments to control the food supply at the expense of the livelihoods and lives of so many farmers, while making a petrie dish out of our planet. It isn't only immoral, I think it is criminal. There is a difference between science that seeks to save lives and science that is pseudo and a sellout to commerce. Knowing the difference can make all the difference regarding our survival.
As an ecofarmer,I am angry that alfalfa was allowed registration for rr technology by USDA Sec Vilsack because of pressure by President Obama,who wanted corporate contributions for his reelection.It is ironic that the President consumes organic foods at the White House,while he pressured the registration of rr alfalfa.I grow alfalfa as a protein source for my hogs,poultry.I avoid soybeans because they are mostly contaminated by rr genes.I recently read that the previous rr alfalfa trials had the rr alfalfa seed propagated intentionally in the center blocks of alfalfa seed growing areas,to ensure contamination of conventional seed,so that registration actually was a moot point.A test done by the Institute for Responsible Technology,showed exactly this.Alfalfa is mostly already contaminated with rr genes,it is already by and large a gmo.The evidence of the health effects of rr genes controlled from independent lab trials leaves no question that gmo gene splicing creates grains potatoes,and other foods that do cause organ,fertility, health issues and morbidity.GMOs must be labeled so people can choose to consume them.In polls 75% and more say they would not consume gmo foods if they were labeled as containing gmos.
ReplyDeleteHere is one way to know. Transparent labeling: http://current.com/technology/93465654_mobile-marketing-for-small-farms.htm
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