I’m one of the 90% who believe that GMO foods should be labeled accordingly. Thus, I took the time to write to my Congressional Representative regarding HR1599 since it declares that if NON-GMO food producers want to go through a “voluntary certification process” so they can label their food as such … otherwise, consumers should just assume everything contains GMOs and they’re safe.
Dear Rep. Mark Amodei,
I oppose H.R. 1599 The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act as it’s currently written, because like over 90% of Americans, I want to know what’s in the food being sold as well as where it comes from so that I can make informed choices about what I buy, eat, and feed my family…and so should you. Clearly, YOU have never felt the debilitating effects of a food allergy, and as a sponsor of this bill, you intend to vote in favor of passage regardless of what ANY of your constituents think.
Federal regulatory processes do NOT accurately assess and mitigate the risk of all deregulated transgenic crops. Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria) corn is a variant of maize that has been genetically altered to produce insecticidal toxins. The protein is poisonous to certain insect pests and is widely used in organic gardening. Monsanto, the same corporation that gave the government Agent Orange to use on our soldiers, claims that it’s no threat to humans because after all, it will merely break down in our intestinal track and be expelled in our waste. Really? Then why is that protein present in the bloodstreams of invitro fetuses and new born infants? Is there a link to the increasing numbers of cases of pancreatic and other intestinal cancers?
Given the “expedited” approval processes this current Congress espouses, toxins that don’t pose a “current” threat, yet pose devastating long-term threats to the health of American citizens (ex: Agent Orange) will be overlooked and the product approved and disseminated throughout our food stream in a manner that prevents us from knowing the risks what’s really being distributed. Not only that, but this act takes that to the extreme by establishing a “voluntary” genetically engineered food certification program at the federal level and 50 different State programs.
I also have some problems with section 213 and section 203 which unilaterally repeal any State regulations that may be stronger than those contained within this regulation. These sections effectively establish a dictated absolute “minimum” standard throughout the nation, above which NO State, or political subdivision thereof, may legislate. I guess this bill will put an end to all those pesky “State’s Rights” on at least this issue.
A lot of good that did, Rep. Mark Amodei and the rest of the Monsanto-purchased GOP caucus voted “AYE” and passed the latest iteration of the “Monsanto Protection Act.” They definitely aren’t scientists, and they not only don’t listen to them, they don’t listen to there constituents either. Then, in this morning’s email … I got his response:
Really? “Wide Scientific Concensus”? A broad community of independent scientific researchers and scholars is challenging recent claims of a consensus over the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Clearly Rep. Amodei has not read the January 24 statement in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe — signed by 300 scientists, physicians and scholars — that asserts there is no scientific consensus on the safety of GMOs nor has he paid any attention to how many countries across the globe are beginning to ban GMOs altogether.
