Dr. Meg Jordan, PhD, RN, CWP, is a clinical medical anthropologist and Dept Chair of Integrative Health Studies and Somatic Psychology.
Do you want to know what is in your food? Or do you blindly trust any food manufacturer or processor to simply deliver the goods, without disclosure of contents, without reference to how it was grown, produced or processed?
Californians will let the government know soon enough how they feel on the issue. A landmark decision will be made by California voters in this November election on proposed statute Proposition 37.
This statewide initiative would require all food distributors, retailers and manufacturers to add labeling that would identify ingredients from genetically modified sources—the so-called "GMO foods." It's a serious law with real "teeth" that would impact the entire sequence of farm-to-table stakeholders, but most of all, could mean a new era in accountability from Big Food.
For decades, Big Food manufacturers have put pressure on FDA and federal and state legislators to resist any attempts to label foodstuffs out of fear that if consumers knew they were eating genetically-modified ingredients, they may choose something else. Yes, it's likely they would. It's called a basic instinct for health and survival.
Just 10 days ago a damning report was released that presents documentation that advisors at the FDA have known about the deleterious health affects from genetically modified foods for some time, and yet, have done nothing but protect marketers and manufacturers.
Employing the Freedom of Information Act, Steven Druker, JD, the Executive Director of the Alliance for Bio-Integrity, was able to obtain 44,000 pages of documents, suppressed by the FDA which included internal memoranda, statements and studies by the FDA's own scientists showing that genetically modified foods were unsafe for human consumption and needed more thorough scientific study. Druker even brought a lawsuit against the FDA for breaking the law and promoting irresponsible food policy.
Druker has presented documentation from respected molecular biologists that pose scientifically justified concerns about the safety of GMO foods, and show how the potential for unintended dangers results from altered genetic transcription.Not only did the FDA violate its policy of acting on sound science to protect public safety, it routinely disregarded the warnings of its own scientists.
If the agency that is charged with public safety won't act responsibly, then it is time for an informed citizenry to rise up and stop the deception.
Contact Meg Jordan at mjordan@ciis.edu.
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