Kicked but not Killed by the Invisible Giant
Last Wednesday, I awoke with a nasty cold that knocked me out and left unable to think clearly for a week. That wasn’t the only bad news. In fact, my cold seemed minor compared to the California election results.
As you know by now, Prop 37 did not pass.
The disappointment was overwhelming. It was like getting kicked in the stomach by an invisible giant.
We weren’t asking that GMOs be removed from the food system. All we wanted was a label.
A simple label.
A label that would allow us to easily choose. We still have that choice but it’s going to take a little more effort. A little more research. A little more conviction.
(Or a lot more conviction.
People have the right to eat what they want.
But we also have the right to know.
Sometimes it takes defeat to realize how much you really do care.
The good new is that is was close. 4,709,949 want to know what’s in their food. (Here are the official results of prop 37)
I really would like to know why 5,287,591 don’t want to know? Really. I ask this in ernest. When was the last time a huge corporation spent over 45 million advertising dollars in one month to protect us?
It really was David vs. Goliath but David came out strong.
(Prop 37 was more than a label. It was about the people’s voice being heard. That our voice couldn’t be drowned out by the drone of the corporate machine.
Still I have hope.
Because I believe with all my heart that we are not guinea pigs.
And
I believe in the voice the people.
Thank you California for taking a stand for our right to know.
Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn
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While I am personally 100% in favor of, and a huge proponent of, labeling of GMO crops, I am torn about whether it should or needs to be a law. I could get into specifics and give you all kinds of citations (I just finished teaching a 2-week long unit to my college students on GMO crops and GMO technology), but this article sums it up much better than I could, and includes several primary literature citations. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2012/11/07/prop-37-fails-scientists-cheer/
I also highly highly recommend reading Tomorrow’s Table. It’s written by a UC-Davis professor of genetics and her husband, an organic farmer. It’s fascinating. I went into it with an open mind and I finished with a totally different view on the issue. I still avoid (some, most) GMOs personally, I’m just not convinced that it is a viable option for everyone, given the current economic situation of the world and the growing population.
Sadly, these issues are never black and white.
Hi Katie! Yeah I’m replying two weeks after the fact. I’ve been really busy with my family and haven’t spent much time on the internet. ANYWAY…I did want to say thanks for offering another opinion. The article was really good. I suppose (I do) 😉 get irrational when it comes to these sort of things. I let my anger towards Monsanto and other big companies override rational thinking. Yeah, you are totally right these issues are hardly ever black and white. It may not seem like it but it was hard for me to get behind prop 37 as someone who votes Libertarian and deeply believes in less government regulation. However, I don’t think corporate greed knows no end and our governments science based dietary guidelines track record isn’t exactly glowing. Remember the heart healthy/low fat craze that resulted in even more overweight Americans. I’m probably the least scientific person I know so I really appreciate your input. It just seems to me that there is little harm in letting people know what foods have been genetically modified much like we can read on the label when oil has been hydrogenated. But you’re right I’m probably oversimplifying.
So sad. All the more reason to eat whole foods (ie not processed), avoid the bad oils & obvious gmo crops, and whenever possible, eat organic or grass fed meats. Diet coke isn’t HMO, right?
Gmo not HMO haha autocorrect
Im excited to move to CA and to git more active in antiGMO