Hello-and please read!
Betsy Boggia
Hi All-
I am part of a small but dedicated group that are working on a ballot initiative for 2014 that would require labeling of all GMO foods sold in Massachusetts. We are doing this for three reasons:
1. We have the right to know what is in our food. Period.
2. There have been no long term studies on the health effects of GMOs. Until we label GMOs, true independent research will be nearly impossible. Labeling will enable us to exercise our right to make precautionary choices.
3. Nearly 50 countries require labels on GMOs, and many of these also have severe restrictions or bans against GMO food production or sale. We deserve the same level of protection and information as citizens in other nations around the world.
And-A recent poll by the New York Times revealed that 93% of the public favor labeling of GMO foods! http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/science/strong-support-for-labeling-modified-foods.html?ref=science
I am reaching out to you because in the coming weeks we will need donations and volunteers if we are to have a chance of getting this on the 2014 ballot. The process requires us to gather 70,000 signatures in a 2 month window (between this Sept-Nov) to qualify for the ballot. If we are able to do that, then you, the voter, will ultimately get to decide whether or not you want GMO foods labeled.
I can already hear the questions!
But what are GMO’s, and what does that mean, you ask?
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are plants or animals created through the process of genetic engineering. This experimental technology forces DNA from one species into a different species. The resulting GMOs are unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional breeding.
I am including a list of resources at the bottom of this email-but if you Google GMO’s you will come up with more information than you could possible handle!
Much like the climate debate, there are a lot efforts to debunk and degrade scientists and others who question the safety of GMO’s and the impact of their introduction to our food systems (without our knowledge) on our health, and the environment (Want to be shocked? Click here for a list of companies, products and food items that potentially contain GMO’s-because without labeling, we really can’t know for sure, can we?).
This is why we simply ask that these food products be labeled so that the public can make informed choices for themselves. However, we are going up against one of the largest and most politically influential industries in the world-the biotech industry. Already, their attorneys have filed a brief with the State Attorney General’s office requesting that our ballot question not be certified under the argument that it is a violation of….their free speech!!
If you can spare a few bucks- we are setting up an indiegogo page (a first to crowd source a ballot initiative!!) and you can donate there. If you are willing to give a few hours of your time between September and November to gather signatures that would be great! Let me know-we will have a formal sign-up sheet on our website shortly. And if you just want to know more, or think I am crazy-give me a shout out!
But for starters, you can Like Us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/GMOLabelMA
Thanks!
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/are-biotech-foods-safe-to-eat A helpful, unbiased overview.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/about-our-products/product-faq/gmos A brief and helpful overview courtesy of Whole Foods
http://www.nongmoproject.org/find-non-gmo/search-participating-products/ These are products/vendors that have been certified Non-GMO
http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/gmo-myths-and-truths/ Here is a link to an extensive report on GMO’s-123 pages but you’ll find everything you wanted to know!
The quickest, easiest way to avoid GMO’s is to shop organic!
Betsy
“Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter From a Birmingham Jail