Should Genetically Modified Foods be Labeled as Such?

Today, with the click of a button, I was able to lobby my congressional representatives about a topic I care deeply about: the labeling of genetically-modified foods.

In a nutshell, the biggest GMO manufacturer, Monsanto, is fighting tooth and nail against labeling laws that would require the origin of the ingredients to be listed. Monsanto claims their laboratory manipulations of our food supply are safe to consume. There are those of us who either disagree or believe the jury is still out on that claim, but regardless, the information should be made available so that you, the consumer, can make the choice to eat GMOs or not for yourself.

Right now, we do not know which foods we are eating are GMOs and which are not because there is not a labeling requirement in this country regarding GMOs. Knowledge is power, and without the knowledge we are powerless to make our own decisions.

The Organic Consumers Association made it easy for me to send off the following letter as part of their “Millions against Monsanto” campaign:

Like most consumers, I want to avoid foods that contain genetically modified organisms, but they are not labeled.

In fact, the federal government does nothing to regulate, or guarantee the safety of, agricultural crops — and now food animals — that have been altered with foreign genes. There has never been a longitudinal scientifically rigorous health study on the impacts of eating genetically altered foods.

The little science there is shows that GMOs are more likely to trigger novel allergies, are less nutritious, sprayed with more herbicides, and contain elevated levels of hormones that correlate with common cancers. And, there’s no doubt that the most common GMO foods are linked to epidemic levels of obesity and diet-related diseases. These include artery-clogging meat and milk products from animals fed GMO grains, trans fats from GMO vegetable oils, and high fructose (GMO) corn syrup.

Public health depends on labeling GMO foods so consumers can avoid them. Mandatory GMO labels are popular with consumers, consistently earning polling numbers politicians dream of.

I am hoping that you and your colleagues in the state legislature can help. Please stand up for consumers’ right to know and truth in labeling by introducing a bill to label GMO foods this year.

I look forward to hearing from you on this important topic.

Join the Millions against Monsanto campaign here and use your voice to demand transparency in our food supply so that we can make our own choices about what we want to eat when it comes to our health.

What do you think? Do you think we should have the right to know if a food is a GMO or not? Does it matter to you?

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