March 2011 Archives

It's no secret that I am adamantly against all use of GMOs.  I have done a lot of reading and considering on this subject and have come to the conclusion that having food with systemic pesticides cannot be good for either people or the planet.  I am already against pesticides applied externally on crops.  The wind takes it aloft spreading it across everything, not just the targeted crops, so that we all breath it whether we choose to or not.  It pollutes our water through runoff.  Traces of it stay in the food people eat, even after washing. 

So why would I think it's a good idea to create a plant whose dna includes a pesticide?  It can't be washed off at all.  A pesticide in the genes can cross with clean plants giving it some of it's altered genes without you even knowing it and this is what's already happening: GMO crops contaminate other crops through their seed  being carried on the wind and by birds.  Even when we purposely choose to eat only non-GMO foods we still may be eating them because farmers planting GMO crops can't prevent contamination to other farms.

I am becoming increasingly angry and alarmed at the disregard my country shows towards my health and my ability to make what I consider to be good choices for my body.  There isn't a lot you or I can do to stop the GMO companies from spreading their seeds to industrial farmers and it feels hopeless sometimes but I would like to suggest that our income is still the best place we can assert our power.  Our income and our voice through voting and protesting.

Here are a few things we can all do to help fight against GMOs infiltrating our lives:

• Do you purchase any packaged food?  Write letters, e-mails, or make phone calls to the producers of the food you buy to ask them if they use GMO produce in their products.  If they say they do, stop buying that product and find one that doesn't use GMOs.  I have actually done this once and plan to do this more.  If you make your preference and your concerns known to companies it puts pressure on them to respond.  They need your money.

• Don't vote for any candidates who are known to support (in any way at all) the companies that produce and promote GMOs.  Read up on them and you can find out what corporations they are affiliated with.

• Campaign for labeling.  Write letters to the government and also to the stores where you shop.  Labeling of all foods with GMO ingredients should be mandatory so that those of us who don't want to ingest or support them can choose not to.  Here is a link with suggestions on how to use guerrilla tactics to get your message across:  Do it Yourself GMO and Factory Farmed Foods

• Plant open pollinated seeds from seed companies who have taken the safe seed pledge.  The corporations who are selling GMOs aren't targeting the civilian population any more (having failed to gain support) and are mostly targeting industrial farmers, but even so, supporting seed companies that have taken the safe seed pledge is important - these are the people preserving clean seeds and our future depends on our ability to save our own seeds (you can't save your own seeds if you plant GMOs, it's not only illegal, it is often not successful).

I buy most of my seeds from Territorial Seed Company because they have seeds that have been acclimated to my climate, they've taken the safe seed pledge, and they offer a good variety of open pollinated seeds which is about 90% of what I plant. 

If you would like to find out what other seed companies have taken the safe seed pledge you can look up "safe seed pledge" online or you can go to this link I found:

Safe Seed Resources

I also found this interesting article by Greenpeace on GMO seeds:

Facts and Figures About GMOs
(that will give you the link to download the article)