Thursday, February 9, 2012

GMO disappointment

When the First Lady planted an organic garden on the White House lawn, I had hoped that this administration would be friendly to organic and family farming movements and a healthier food supply. I have been disappointed in its support of certain big ag trends, particularly genetic modification of plant organisms (GMO). Before you dismiss this out of hand, please read this post and give it some consideration. We owe it to future generations.

I have opposed GMOs since they first hit the scene, for philosophical and scientific reasons. Number one of which is that no studies have proven these as safe for human or animal consumption or safe for the environment, while many have shown potential harm. So I find it particularly disturbing that a former executive and lobbyist for Monsanto (which seems bent on bending food production entirely out of shape) has been appointed as a senior adviser to the FDA commissioner. This seems highly suspect to me, unless the man has had a complete transformation.

I signed a petition opposing this move. Following is the opening paragraph to that petition, plus some snippets, then the link to the petition if you should choose to sign it. I try to stay out of politics in this blog, but this issue is very dear to me and I want to keep our food supplies clean. At the very least, we must label products with GMO in them and let the consumers choose. I find too many questions about the safety of these products to feel comfortable eating them or serving them to anyone. Please support seed suppliers that have pledged not to sell GMO seed, such as Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, among others. There is a reason we oppose this.

Petition:

"President Obama, I oppose your appointment of Michael Taylor, a former VP and lobbyist for Monsanto, the widely criticized genetically modified (GM) food multinational, as senior advisor to the commissioner at the FDA. Taylor is the same person who as a high-ranking official at the FDA in the 1990s promoted allowing genetically modified organisms into the U.S. food supply without undergoing a single test to determine their safety or risks."

".......Naturally occurring plant and animal species are permanently threatened by the introduction of DNA and hormonal modification, Monsanto's core businesses. 

"FDA scientists once regarded genetic modification of the food supply as the single most radical and potentially dangerous threat to public health in history. As early as the 1991, a body of scientific research began to form which now includes articles in over 600 journals. As a whole, these offer scientific evidence that GM foods, hormones, and related pesticides are the root cause for the increase of many serious diseases in the U.S." Sign petition HERE...

Please help give my grandchildren, your grandchildren and all future generations a clean food supply and healthy world by giving greater scrutiny to this subject and other agriculture issues. This is our FOOD, people. Thank you.

4 comments:

Meggie said...

I'm so happy you listed Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in your post. I buy all my seeds from them and support what you have said today. I hope everyone who reads your post today will click on the link and take a look at their huge variety of heirloom seeds.

Sandra M. Siebert said...

Baker Creek's print catalog also is one of the most beautiful things available. My neighbor calls it gardener's porn. Full page color photos of some veggies make it a real treat. And they are active advocates of GMO-free seeds, even testing their seeds to be certain there is no GMO.

Meggie said...

I agree...and the story about the owners is also a great story. I would love to go to the festival they have each year.

Ngo Family Farm said...

Grrrr...I get so upset about the hypocrisy each time I think about it! I've signed many petitions such as this one, and also feel very passionate about this issue. It's scary stuff.
-Jaime