If you purchase only foods which are labeled “organic,” you need not read this article. Organic foods are forbidden to use ingredients grown with the use of GMOs.
Vermont passed a labeling law last year which gave consumers the right to know what is contained in the foods they purchase. The label would have boldly revealed if GMO grown products were used in the making of your purchase. The food industry opposed Vermont’s action, and has now influenced the Senate to take its own action involving labeling; well, sort of. This law will supersede Vermont’s.
60 nations around the world either ban the use of GMOs or place restrictions such as labeling on the foodstuffs manufactured with their use.
The Senate passed a ‘labeling’ law of its own yesterday, but it is nearly esoteric in nature. The House will make its decision after the Fourth of July Holiday; that’s right, another holiday for Congress; but that’s another story.
The federal law would make it far more difficult for consumers to ascertain if their purchases contain GMOs. Manufacturers will be allowed to use words, a federally approved symbol, or a bar code on the packaging. Once again Congress is placing profit before people.
Vermont’s label would have been simple and entirely accurate. Only two phrases would have been used; “produced with GMOs, or partially produced with GMOs.” As usual, and frequently to protect big business, the Senates law is complicated and the labeling process unclear.
This all began in the European Union when their scientists determined that GMOs pose a danger to future health of consumers. Our own FDA, which has proven with the pharmaceutical companies lack of oversight, found no danger for consumers.
We need only to understand why GMOs were created to learn why they may pose a danger to the general public. The lies told by Monsanto, the largest manufacturer of GMOs, that they produce a greater yield, and are more resistant to disease, are as misleading as their claim that “Agent Orange” would not be harmful to humans when used in the Vietnam War.
It all relates to Monsanto’s best-selling product; “Roundup.” Industrial strength Roundup is the most widely used product to kill weeds surrounding crops. As the weeds developed a resistance to the herbicide, Monsanto developed a stronger form of Roundup. The problem was that this ‘new and improved’ herbicide would also kill the crops. Scientists at Monsanto developed seeds which were now Genetically Modified Organisms. Crops grown with these seeds were resistant to the new form of Roundup.
Not only are GMOs dangerous to humans, the Roundup has become a problem for fresh water sources in areas where they are used. Runoff from the fields is polluting rivers and streams with the “new and improved” herbicide.
Big business owns an entire political party, which fallaciously calls itself the ‘Republican Party.’ Profit before people has become the mantra of the new GOP.
Bernie Sanders is correct when he claims that it is time for a revolution. Government must support the people of our nation and deny the influence of special interests such as Monsanto.
Your vote; your country; your future. You have the power; use it wisely.
Op-Ed
By James Turnage
The Truth With No Restrictions 