Fwd: NYers should know what they're eating

[David Yarrow]

 

Tell NY State Lawmakers to Label GMO Products

Dear Toni,

Was that tomato on your sandwich genetically engineered? What about the potatoes used to make your french fries?

Right now, Americans have absolutely no way of knowing. But a new bill could make New York the first state to change that by requiring companies to label foods containing genetically modified organisms (or GMO's).¹

New Yorkers have the right to know what's in their food so they can make informed choices about what they and their families eat. Firedoglake is joining the fight, helping to organize New York residents to urge their lawmakers to support this important initiative.

Join us by signing our petition to New York lawmakers in support of labeling genetically engineered foods in the state.

Assembly Bill 3525-A and it's companion in the Senate 3835-A, are not simply about labeling food. This initiative is an opportunity to push back and regulate a super-wealthy and corrupt industry that is devastating human health, local economies and the environment at an alarming rate.

For years, large bio-tech industries have successfully pushed for lax regulation of GMOs in the U.S and have blocked studies that would bring attention to the potential dangers of these foods.2 Their lobby is so powerful it recently secured the passage of the "so-called Monsanto Protection Act, a provision snuck into the emergency budget bill that essentially exempts biotech firms like Monsanto Company from judicial review."² Last year, Monsanto alone spent more than $7 million to defeat a GMO labeling proposition in California.³

The jury may still be out on the effects of eating GMO products, but 60 other countries have opted to either require labeling of GMOs or ban them outright. Given all the uncertainty, largely due to the considerable efforts of biotech companies to keep information on them out of the public eye, shouldn't the public at least know if our food has been genetically modified?

If federal agencies continue to refuse to study the safety risks of GMOs, we must take matters into our own hands and require proper labeling in our communities. Firedoglake will organize activists to write letters, call lawmakers, run advertisements and more to give New York consumers freedom of choice on genetically modified products.

Can you join the fight to help New York make history by requiring GMO labeling?

Thanks in advance for your help. Firedoglake is running this campaign in conjunction with GMO Free NY.

In solidarity,

Brian Sonenstein
Campaign Director,
Firedoglake.com

Sources:
1. Will New York Be First State to Require Labeling of GMO Food? Karl Grossman, HuffPost Green, 4/30/13.
2. Monsanto Gets Its Very Own Law, DSWright, Firedoglake News, 3/29/13.
3. In Prop 37 food fight, is fair play losing out? Jason Hoppin, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 10/1/12.

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