HR 1599/DARK Act Letter To Senator

Dear Senator ..................,

When I became a mother, I did not know that I should have studied medicine in college, but that is what it takes for me, and thousands of other mothers. My children, like so many others, suffer from autoimmune issues that the vast majority of medical professionals are not trained to treat. Today, 54% of American children have a chronic health condition. Children who suffer from allergies, autism, asthma, ADHD and autoimmune issues are now very common in every classroom, and the numbers are climbing. Massive collections of Epi pens fill the cabinets in every school nurse’s office. As parents, we need to be very careful about our children’s diet, and we need to know what ingredients are in everything. Parenting is not the same as it was when I was a child. When I was in school I did not know one child with a food allergy that could kill them. Now there are at least two children with such allergies in every class.


In fact, GMOs have been linked to allergies in the case of the Starlink corn.

The science is in no way settled on the matter of the safety of these foods. Many high-level scientists with impeccable credentials are NOT convinced that GE foods are safe.

A major concern that I have with GM foods is the level of pesticides used in their farming. Approximately 80% of all GM crops are what are referred to as “Roundup Ready” or glyphosate tolerant. So the foods are sprayed with glyphosate, which would normally kill the plants, but the GE plants are resistant, so they keep growing and they are sprayed sometimes 2-3 times before harvest. The problem with this technology is a growing weed resistance to glyphosate. So farmers are applying it in increasing amounts in a futile attempt to combat the “super weeds”.

Since the glyphosate is continuing to fail, beginning this year, they are ADDING Dicamba or 2,4-D to that mix. We have also found that contrary to industry claims, glyphosate actually bioaccumulates in our systems. In fact, in three different random samplings, two groups of nursing mothers in the U.S. and one group of mothers in Germany, glyphosate was found in their breast milk. In fact, the mother with the highest detectable level in Pennsylvania is living with the heartbreak of an infant with cancer.

These chemicals do not wash off, but rather, they are absorbed into the plant and its food, and it goes into our bodies.

Toxins in our bodies are a great concern on many levels. The addition of glyphosate to our food supply is frightening because the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization, has stated unequivocally that it causes cancer in mammals and therefore is likely to also cause cancer in humans. Many countries are in fact moving to ban glyphosate, which is a key chemical for GM farming.

Toxins in children’s bodies today are higher than ever.

Canada catching on to blessings of biotech crops

Canada catching on to blessings of biotech crops | Government content from Western Farm Press

Agriculture is one of the great engines of the Canadian economy–and much of our success in recent years comes from advances in technology that allow us to grow more food on less land.

On our farm in Saskatchewan, we’ve grown GM canola for almost 10 years. There are obvious advantages for us on the farm, but this technology benefits all Canadians. Boosting our productivity keeps food prices down and helps protect the environment.

Anti-biotech activists seek to turn back the clock on this progress. They fail to see the science behind the benefits. They want warning labels to demonize ordinary products, reduce consumer confidence, and hurt an entire industry, even as food and health organizations around the world have endorsed the adoption of GM crops.

For me, the issue is personal. I have two young daughters, and we feed them what we grow on the farm. That includes food with GM ingredients. As a parent, I’m very comfortable feeding my children food produced from GM crops.  But I’m inundated with anti-biotech propaganda while shopping at the grocery store. I’m irritated by irrational labeling… like “GM Free” stickers on products that don’t even have a GM counterpart. Thanks for the “warning!” Parents have enough to worry about these days when feeding our families, we don’t need more unsubstantiated fear tactics.

LETTERS / Genetically Modified Organisms | High Country Press

LETTERS / Genetically Modified Organisms | High Country Press

Dear Editor;

GMOs (bio-engineering) are relatively new to agriculture and were released in the 90s before extensive long term testing was completed.   It began in the commodities (corn, soybeans,  etc) and has expanded into other crops (sugar beets,  papaya, some vegetables and fruits ).  The early modifications were designed to make the plants tolerant to Glyphosate (Round-up) or to produce Bt -Bacillus Thuringienses (an organic insecticide ).

It is estimated GMOs can be found in over 70% of processed food items.

A French study from the University of Caen stated GMOs produced tumors in lab animals.   Much of the world’s scientific entities have found the methodology of the study to be faulty and consider it to be unreliable.   Many believe GMOs are harmful,  but so far no valid study has confirmed those claims.   What studies have shown is that stress can be harmful and eating fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy for you.
In Europe they are using modified tobacco plants to produce vaccines vs lab animals.   A GMO bovine gives non allergic milk.   Disease resistance is being enhanced.

Like most human endeavors GMOs will probably have pros and cons.  Some advocate the removal of
GMOs from the food supply.   The business push is to have more.

Airborne pollen can travel and contaminate non gmo crops.

Personally I have an issue with GMOs due to environmental impacts.   By depending on one chemical to control weeds resistance develops and the weeds cannot be controlled with that chemistry.   The same will happen with insects and Bt.

“Chemical Free Agriculture ” is a fallacy.   Plants and animals have a chemical composition.   Some people are sensitive to certain chemicals (conventional or organic ) and need to exercise caution.   For most people the amount of allowed chemicals permitted to grow our food is safe.  Most of our food problems are from food poisoning (E Coli and Salmonella).

Sincerely
Bill Moretz
Boone NC

Initiative to label genetically engineered food sent to Legislature | Northwest Voices | The Seattle Times

Initiative to label genetically engineered food sent to Legislature | Northwest Voices | The Seattle Times

Initiative may bring groups together
 
Hurrah! I was glad to see in “Food-labeling initiative gets enough signers to go forward” [NWSaturday, Feb. 2] that I-522, the initiative that would require the labeling of genetically modified food, will be on November’s ballot.

This is good news for everybody, particularly free-market conservatives. The free market can work only if consumers have complete information about what they’re buying.
It’s also good news for people of faith, many of whom don’t approve of humans playing God, and for environmentalists, who espouse the precautionary principle. Maybe this is the one issue that can bring us all together.

--Maggie Willson, Seattle

If GMOs are safe, disclosure brings no problems

I am a 59-year-old grandfather, father and sibling. I have a number of years learning life’s lessons, especially with respect to what I choose to eat. As careful as I try to be, reading labels and paying attention to ingredients and additives, I have learned that I have almost certainly ingested a substantial amount of genetically modified or engineered foods and ingredients.

I understand that the Food and Drug Administration has accepted the studies that have been financed and/or performed by the purveyors of these substances. I remain unconvinced of the efficacy of the process and the product. I am also concerned that a genetically altered plant or animal will breed with previously unaltered plants or animals, altering organisms that are not intended.

I am excited to see that, thanks to Initiative 522 being slated for the ballot, we have the chance to force disclosure, and perhaps I will eat very little that has been genetically engineered. If GMOs and GEs are truly safe, what is the problem with disclosure?

--David Ludden, Seattle