Prop 37 and the Labeling of GMO’s is in My Backyard

In 20 days, Californians have a tremendous opportunity to make one of the biggest impacts on the food industry that we may ever see in our lifetime.

Until now, how our food is grown, processed and sold has been determined by the government.  A government that is largely and easily persuaded by lobbyists.  Lobbyists who are paid for by multi-million dollar corporations who only have the interests of their own pocketbooks in mind.  And in most cases, we’re not told about the changes or the implications these laws have on our food.  This video sums it up well.

In just under three weeks, the voters in the state of California can make history.  By voting yes on Proposition 37, voters can require genetically engineered foods sold in store to be labeled.

What exactly is a genetically engineered food?

In plain English, it’s food that has been changed at the gene level.  Either a gene was added, or a gene was taken away.  Genes contain the specific identifiers of a food.  It’s what makes corn different from broccoli; making oats high in protein and kale high in beta carotene.

These foods can be the wheat that was processed to make your spaghetti noodles.  It can be the tomatoes that were roasted and pureed for your jarred spaghetti sauce.  It can be the feed that was given to a cow, before it was butchered and processed to become the ground beef that is wrapped up neatly in in butcher paper, handed to you by the man behind the counter.  Still worse, it can be the cow itself, modified and bred to be bigger and leaner.

GMO (genetically modified organisms) have the potential of being in everything we eat.  And unless Prop 37 passes, we’ll never know it.

I don’t know about you guys, but it’s hard enough as it is to un-learn the wrong informationI’ve been taught about food over the past 30 something years.  Reading articles only to second guess years of “healthy” advice is frustrating.  I don’t really need something else to stand in my way.

If I’m eating spinach that has been engineered – in a laboratory – to have more leaves but less vitamins, I want to know.

If the genes of my apples have been modified under a microscope so that they remain crisp and juicy for months after being picked, I want to know.

If the beef on my plate was fed corn that was modified to be resilient against every common crop pest known to man, I want to know.

I want to know what I’m eating.  It’s just that simple.

Kelly the Kitchen Kop posted an interview of Dr. Don Huber, an agricultural scientist and expert in microbial ecology.  The full interview is posted here, but to quote some of her highlighted excerpts:

• A new organism has been found in genetically engineered (GE) animal feed – an organism that has been clearly linked to infertility and miscarriage in cattle, horses, pigs, sheep and poultry.
• Micronutrients (iron, manganese, zinc, etc.) can be reduced as much as 80-90% in GE plants.
• Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the weed killer most commonly used among conventional farms.  This highly toxic ingredient is absorbed by the plant and cannot be washed off.  Once ingested, glyphosate ruins the balance of good and bad bacteria in your digestive system.

Maybe I’ll still buy the spinach.  Maybe I’ll stop eating apples.  I can’t tell you what changes I’ll make, or not make, if this legislation passes.  But I can tell you what I already have done.

I registered to vote.  I’m doing my part.  I want to know what I’m feeding my kids!

Do you live in California?  I implore you to give honest thought and consideration to Proposition 37 and register to vote to make a difference.  The day we change the world may be three weeks away, but the deadline to register to vote is in three days (October 22).

Not in California?  Spread the word about Prop 37, especially to those you know in California.  If this passes in November, the implications reach far beyond the West Coast.  It will merely be the start of a domino effect of positive changes for food and the industry as we know it.

 What are your thoughts on genetically engineered foods?