Q: Why do you feel now is the right time to hold the Right 2 Know March?
A: There is incredible momentum building in opposition to GMOs. More and more people are finding out what GMOs are, and how common they are in our food supply, and they want to take action. Americans are waking up, and starting to say “If Europeans don’t allow this experimental technology into the food they give their children, why should we?” Genetic engineering has failed to deliver on its promises, and besides the health risks, it’s starting to cause huge problems for farmers and the environment. With the public outrage over the USDA decisions on GMO alfalfa and sugar beets, and the growing concern about GMO salmon, now felt like the right time to give people a coordinated, empowering way to express their concerns and stand up for the right to know.
Q: How would you describe the purpose of the March? What do you hope it will achieve?
A: The primary purpose is to raise awareness. Although the GMO issue is starting to get some mainstream media coverage (just last week CNN Money ran a broadcast on the problems with Bt corn), a lot of Americans still don’t know what a GMO is. Over and over we see that as soon as people do learn about genetic engineering, they don’t like it. There’s zero benefit to the consumer, so why take the risk of eating something that hasn’t been thoroughly tested (especially when it causes all kinds of alarming symptoms in lab animals)? Biotech companies know that people have an intuitive distrust of GMOs, and that’s why they don’t want them to be labeled. Whether or not we can get mandatory labeling in place, the key thing is to get the public educated and demanding non-GMO. The marketplace will respond. This march is going to bring the GMO issue to lots of Americans who had no idea about this experiment going on in our food supply.
Plant Powered Interview – Megan Westgate, Executive Director, Non-GMO Project
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