Help Require Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food Issues Beyond Palo Alto, posted by GMO Labeler, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Feb 25, 2012 at 8:09 pm
I think people have the right to know what is in their food. Currently foods such as corn, soybeans, canola oil, sugar beets and cottonseed oil are produced using genetic engineering in over two thirds of cases.
Fifty countries including all major European countries and Japan have laws mandating disclosure of genetically engineered food.
An initiative is being circulated for the November ballot to require labeling. It is noninvasive and does not prevent the production or purchase of these products. The intent is purely to provide information so consumers can choose and not inadvertantly violate dietary or religious preferences.
More information can be found at [www.labelgmos.org ]
Volunteers are available to collect signatures at downtown Whole Foods on Saturday afternoons and Sundays at the California Avenue farmers' market.
Posted by Ron, a resident of the Charleston Gardens neighborhood, on Feb 25, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Oh, for Pete's sake. another scare tactic. Just about all the food you eat today is or has been altered in some form over the past one hundred years. You have to consider that our farm products have been altered to produce larger product and be bug resistant. There are more than kind of apple on the shelf for instance. Where do you think seedless grapes came from? These differences didn't happen by accident but by lab testing and by genetics. There is nothing wrong with genetic altering or engineering for it is for us, the consumer, to have the variety we enjoy.
Posted by Anon., a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Feb 26, 2012 at 3:45 am
I agree - I want to know. I may or may not choose to buy as in my opinion not all GMO's are the same, but we should have the right to know if only to support genetic diversity or not.
The fact is that many species of plants have been lost, and just because we have more apples than just red, green and yellow does not mean there is more genetic diversity. What we see in terms of genetic diversity are things like heirloom plants that people now appreciate much more than before and are willing to support with their money.
Why in a capitalist market economy would anyone argue to hide information?
Also, just as an example, the majority of mass produced carrots (not sure if they are GMO) have a lot of sugar in them and can cause people with diabetes problems. Heirloom carrots have less sugar.
Also, when they breed GMOs they do so to increase shelf life, durability, pest resistance, etc … it is not necessarily a better product from the poing of view of the consumer.
Posted by Walter_E_Wallis, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Feb 27, 2012 at 9:17 am Walter_E_Wallis is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online
Sorry, anon, but increased shelf life, durability and pest resistance are definitely consumer values. Are you interested in buying buggy, rotten, malformed, overpriced produce? Not me.
Posted by Anon, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Feb 27, 2012 at 6:32 pm
Seedless grapes are not genetically engineered. And the tomato with the fish gene that attempted to better shelf life in cold temperatures failed. The majority of genetic modification is done to create the Bt toxin inside the plant and create resistance to Roundup so that herbicides can be sprayed willy nilly. Since the Roundup Ready gene is becoming less effective, now they want to engineer resistance to worse and worse chemicals. None of the GMOs on the market today increase vitamins or anything else that benefits the person eating it. And if a farmer's field gets contaminated with the genes, that farmer can then be sued by the patent owners of that gene for patent infringement. This has happened hundreds of times in the US. This is the case even with organic farms that never wanted those genes there in the first place and thus is a huge threat to California's organic industry. Then there's GMO salmon - it is estimated that if only 60 of them reach the wild, that would lead to the extinction of wild salmon in 40 generations. This is one reason why the Sierra Club is against genetic engineering that is released into the wild.
Posted by Anon., a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Feb 28, 2012 at 9:02 pm
Walter, you ought to try some organic produce, or go to some farmer's markets, and maybe desist from what false arguments. You are an ideologue, and you look at some issues and pick a belligerent tone before you ever know what you are talking about half the time ... or more. I'm not going to waste the time making arguments you will not even think about.
Posted by Walter_E_Wallis, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Mar 1, 2012 at 12:32 pm Walter_E_Wallis is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online
My niece is going bankrupt on an orchard because she cannot use poisoned baits. Your "math" is suspect and your science is preposterous.
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