It is a right and not a privilege to know exactly what is being put into foods and how they are made. Most people do not know that the majority of food being consumed in America contains some ingredients that are genetically modified in some way.
Monsanto has been in the news a great deal lately because of the bill passed in March deemed the “Monsanto Protection Act” or HR 933; section 735. This controversial bill bars federal courts from being able to stop the sale or planting of genetically modified or genetically engineered seeds, and many Americans are upset at these privileges given to GM and GE seed corporations.
New Mexico has joined with other states to make it a law to label these so called “Frankenfoods” in order to know what is really in our food with the SB18 bill, introduced by Senator Wirth (D-Santa Fe). Unfortunately this bill was affirmed “dead” on January 31 by Senator Wirth and Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez.
Many other countries have outright banned GM and GE seeds and pesticides for many reasons such as the devastation caused by chemicals and pesticides to insect populations, the damage to regular crops unable to grow near any GM crops, as well as making farmers sick from chemical and pesticide use, and has also been proven to cause tumors and shorten life spans of lab animals.
When is our country going to open its eyes to what GM and GE foods really can do to people, as well as understanding that we need to fight for our rights to know what exactly is in the foods we are all consuming. If we let our government pass laws that protect these companies and let them deny bills designed to inform people that some foods are truly manmade and manufactured, then we are a part of the problem.
