Now that the US Supreme Court has undermined historic controls on monopoly politics, corporate cash flows into election campaigns at an unprecedented rate.
But it does not always win.
Just ask the farmers of Oregon's Jackson County.
They took on some of the largest chemical, biotechnology and agribusiness corporations in the world—Dow, DuPont, Monsanto, Syngenta, among others—in an election campaign where 95 percent of the money spent against them came from outside the county.
But when the ballots were counted Tuesday night, the farmers won.
Jackson County voted by a two-to-one margin to ban the genetically engineered crops. (Read More)
Article Comment:
Article Comment:
The question that needs to be asked is, are GMOs safe? Few people are
aware that in approving GM foods as substantially equivalent to natural food back
in 1996, the politically appointed head of the FDA, Michael Taylor, ignored the
overwhelming consensus of his own scientists who repeatedly warned of
the dangers and unpredictable effects of this new manufactured food.
aware that in approving GM foods as substantially equivalent to natural food back
in 1996, the politically appointed head of the FDA, Michael Taylor, ignored the
overwhelming consensus of his own scientists who repeatedly warned of
the dangers and unpredictable effects of this new manufactured food.
Their
objections were kept secret until uncovered in a lawsuit 7 years later,
according to Jeffrey Smith in Genetic Roulette.
according to Jeffrey Smith in Genetic Roulette.
Anyone who wants to see how many scientists around the world view take a skeptical view of GMOs should read the European scientists' report (ENSSER), "No Consensus on GMO Safety." Also recommended is Dr. Nancy Swanson's brilliant takedown of corporate junk science in her article "The Corruption of Science."
Fact: the FDA has never required a single, long-term, independent animal study proving the safety of genetically engineered crops. So people here and elsewhere in the world have become de facto lab rats for this novel, untested technology.
Three cheers for the citizens of Jackson and Josephine County who have shown the good sense to opt out of perhaps the biggest uncontrolled food experiment ever conducted!
Until GMOs are proven unequivocally safe, they deserve to be banned. Although the voting in Jackson and Josephine counties is over, shoppers up all across America can continue voting with their wallets: each purchase of a GMO-free product is a vote to transform the Waste Land into the New Eden.
No comments:
Post a Comment