You may not be aware of this, but currently a flood of GMO (genetically modified organism) foods is making its way to a grocery store near you. Scientists have been busy genetically modifying everything from alfalfa to salmon, and soon it could get harder and harder to tell the GMO from the real deal.
I will not get into a debate regarding the benefits and/or the inherent dangers of GMO foods. I will just concede that both sides make compelling arguments, but at the end of the day, I have no interest in eating GMO foods. I’ve seen enough of what big Ag and the food processing industry has done to our food supply, and I wish to opt out. At this stage of my life, I am no more interested in eating a genetically modified apple than I am in eating a butter-like spread that has been re-engineered to be void of saturated fat and cholesterol. I’m sorry, but I’d prefer natural foods over those created in a corporate laboratory.
What is most troubling about the GMO movement is that the corporations behind these products don’t believe you or I need or have the right to know that we are consuming them. They would prefer you just eat away, unknowingly, and be happy about it. Their complaint is simple, if you know that the foods they produce include GMO ingredients, you might decide not to buy them. They’re stand is that their products are generally consider safe, and labels will unjustifiably frighten us away.
I don’t know about you, but that simply infuriates me. I don’t care where you stand on GMO foods, but no one should be denied the right to know what goes into their foods. For many of us, there are still too many unanswered questions regarding the impact of GMOs on our bodies and our environment, and we have the right to know which products contain them and which do not.
For this reason, I am supporting an initiative in California called Proposition 37, which will be on the state’s election ballots this November. If you agree with me that GMO labeling should be mandatory, I invite you to find out more about the issue and join me as I take action. Even if you don’t live in California, there are steps you can take to help.
Why should non-Californians care about Proposition 37? It’s simple. California is the most populace state in the US and the eighth largest economy in the world. It can be said, in some cases, that what’s good for California, is good the rest of the U.S. If manufacturers need to go through the expense and trouble of labeling GMO foods sold in California, it makes economic sense to just do it for the rest of the country, but in the event that don’t choose a one-label-fits-all approach, a victory in California will encourage other states to follow suit.
If labeling of GMO foods is something you care about, I urge you to take immediate action and join the Right to Know Campaign. While polls have indicated that the broad majority of Americans support the right to know what we eat, opponents of Proposition 37, which include large food processors and chemical companies we all know by name, have amassed over $10 million to defeat the bill and deny the consumer the right to know. So you need to act fast, and learn more about the issue. If we allow these companies to get away with this, it will set a precedent, and soon none of us will know exactly what we are eating.
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It’s about time you’re back. Where have ya been?
Folks, this came to me by way of the Center for Food Safety:
Under a new USDA fast-track process, a Canadian company is asking the USDA to approve a genetically engineered (GE) apple that will not brown when sliced. If approved, Okanagan’s non-browning “Arctic” apple would be first commercialized in Granny Smith and Golden Delicious varieties.
What’s worse, these unlabeled GE apples are primarily targeted to the fresh-sliced apple market and could also find their way into non-GE fruit slices, juice, baby foods or apple sauce at the processing level, products predominantly consumed by children and babies who are at increased risk for any adverse health effects.Tell USDA parents do not want to feed their kids GE apples.
Even the apple industry has opposed this genetically engineered product. The U.S. Apple Association, Northwest Horticultural Council (which represents Washington apple growers, who grow over 60% of the apples in the U.S.), British Columbia Fruit Growers Association and other grower groups have already voiced their disapproval of these GE apples due to the negative impact they could have on farmers growing organic and non-GE apples, and the apple industry as a whole.
We all know that sliced apples turn brown when they’re exposed to oxygen, but they don’t lose any flavor or nutritional value. This GE apple offers no benefit for consumers or producers, and only risk.
Tell USDA to Reject this GE Apple: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/1881/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8279