September 29, 2012
Science = Labeling
I'm annoyed to have come across multiple articles online calling Proposition 37 "anti-farmer" or "anti-science"... and some saying that 37 is a farce because "100% of what we eat is genetically modified," and lump breeding and hybridization into that category.
I hope most Californians are not falling for these lies and the spread of ignorance.
If you read the text of Prop 37 you'll see it requires labeling food that is "'Genetically engineered", specifically meaning "food produced from an organism or organisms in which the genetic material has been changed through the application of" various "in vitro nucleic acid techniques" or by the "fusion of cells, including protoplast fusion, or hybridization techniques that overcome natural physiological, reproductive, or recombination barriers..."
It also states definitions to correct the existing problem with "misbranding of Genetically Engineered Foods as 'Natural'".
While it's true that GM foods have been eaten for a couple decades and the number approved for consumption has been increasing, it's still only a relatively few plants that are grown this way. It's just that they are the plants (corn and soy) which are in at least three-quarters of the processed foods on the grocery shelf... a market full of improperly tested scientific experiments. People should have the right to know, and decide if they wish to be willing participants of the trial.
It seems to me that the opposers of Prop 37 are anti-science. Science is all about the exploration of truth. Monsanto and other manufactures of these genetic experiments (the money behind the opposition), are not properly using science and preforming longitudinal or epigenetic studies. Their interest is not truly scientific, and it is not sympathetic to the farmers, their interest is completely pro-profit.
If Prop 37 was "anti-science" it would be banning the study of genetic modification, not simply requiring labeling of it's products. Really, Prop 37 is pro-science... it's a response to the growing irresponsible use of technology and non-scientific methodology.
Tags
food (11), genetic-modification (1), politics (2), propaganda (1), science (2)
Arianna Helen