If we ever wanted to see the end of a piece of legislation, it would be the DARK Act. If you are not familiar with it, this legislation is aimed at taking away our right to know what we are eating. States will not be able to legislate GMO labeling. The DARK Act completely blocks efforts to label genetically modified foods.
What it’s really all about is big business, corruption, and empty biotech promises and lies.
Big Business
This may seem a little off topic, but this fact about big business is really interesting. According to the Small Business Administration, as of 2010, the United States was home to 27.9 million small businesses and only 18,500 large businesses. In this case, a large business is defined as a business employing 500 or more employees. Yes, that’s right; 99.7% of the businesses in the United States are small businesses with 500 or fewer employees. So how and why do these few businesses carry so much weight and influence?
Corruption?
What else could it be other than corruption and payoffs? Why would our elected officials, whose sworn duty is to serve the people they represent, be so hell bent on ignoring the rights and wishes of the American people? Why do they want federal legislation that denies the rights of Americans to know what they are eating and what they are feeding their children?
Do they really think biotech is the answer to world hunger when other countries are seeing through the propaganda and lies and realizing that genetically modified crops are not the panacea they are purported to be. In addition, they are contaminating other crops (heirloom, organic, indigenous) as containment is impossible. (Who can control the wind and the birds?)
According to the Center for Food Safety, here are the results of recent polls of the American people:
When |
Who Conducted the Poll? |
Pro Mandatory Labeling |
11/23/15 |
The Mellman Group, Inc. |
89% |
6/9/2014 |
Consumer Reports |
92% |
07/27/13 |
New York Times |
93% |
2/25/11 |
MSNBC |
96% |
10/10 |
Reuters and NPR |
93% |
9/17/10 |
Washington Post |
95% |
9/21/10 | KSTP – St. Paul/Minneapolis | 95% |
Biotech
They keep telling us genetically modified foods are safe, that fear of them is unscientific and frankly stupid. We know better.
Common sense tells us that growing and eating a food genetically modified to kill life (insects, infection, microbes), or modified to be able to withstand being drenched in chemicals designed to kill, not to mentiona all of the other agricultural poisons (that we end up eating) is not smart. Add to that the fact that the chemicals used to grow these plants are destroying farmlands, and it is a no brainer.
We don’t even need the studies showing us that GMOs cause cancer and reproductive failure in lab animals to know this is a bad, bad idea. And yes, these studies do exist. And yes, the biotech companies know they exist. That’s why they do short term studies to “prove” their products are safe and pretend the long-term studies that reveal the real and present dangers don’t exist.
What Can We Do?
On March 1, 2016, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry again revived the DARK Act by voting on legislation, which is now headed to the full Senate. The bipartisan vote was 14-6 in favor.
This piece of legislation “…directs the Agriculture Secretary, in coordination with other federal agencies, to engage in a consumer education and outreach effort. Information will be science-based and related to environmental, nutritional, economic, and humanitarian benefits of agricultural biotechnology.”
While vague, its purpose is to strike down any attempts by individual states to require GMO labeling for food sold in their state. It claims biotech foods are safe and that this is simply an expensive marketing issue. (With a clear message that the American people are deranged and uninformed).
Tell your elected officials how you feel. Tell them that you don’t care that the World Health Organization claims GMOs are safe or that the Senate committee thinks they are safe. You still deserve the right to choose. We don’t need to be in the dark. Turn on the light. Label GMOs.
Related Reading:
- Understanding and Detoxifying Genetically Modified Foods
- Scientists Against GMOs – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
- Doctors Against GMOs – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
- How to Detoxify From Antibiotics and Other Chemical Antimicrobials
- How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
Sources:
- U.S. Polls on GE Food Labeling – Center for Food Safety
- Senate Agriculture Committee Passes Chairman’s Mark on Biotechnology Labeling Solutions – United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry