Why GMO’s are Bad News:
It's about the current state of affairs regarding Genetically modified organisms, their development and regulatory approval, and how we are made intrinsically…we are all born with a selfish streak.
1. In spite of our fallibility and mistakes, we overestimate how smart we are. Because of our accomplishments, we believe that our intellect and reasoning ability will eventually solve all the worlds problems and make this place a paradise.
2. We bristle when our wills and agendas our limited in any way, at any time and often possess a sense of entitlement.
3. When called to sacrifice for others we often become indignant.
4. We think that the next incremental gain of money or power will finally satisfy us. The more wealth and power we have the more we tend to lord it over others instead of serving them.
5. We can get attached to transitory material things and can be bought.
6. When something is benefiting us we do not like to entertain the notion that it could be unjust or against the common good. When is the last time you saw proponents of GMOs lead the charge in discussing the subject with opponents on national TV or any other forum for that matter?
7. We are attracted to expediency and are masters at rationalization and self –justification.
8. Those of us in government when called to do the right thing, take leadership, establish right order, and the ascendancy of the common good often succumb to laziness or fear.
9. Our bodies, the human cell, our immune system are extremely complex, and will never be completely understood. The effects of our dietary patterns stay hidden for years
We have been tinkering with our food for over 50 years for efficiency and marketing sake. Goods like food wholesomeness ,the environment ,animal welfare, widespread ownership of property aren’t talked about much. We now have mad cow disease, autism coming out of nowhere, super bugs in hospitals, trans fats causing heart disease, cancer cases set to double in 20 years (KMPH news Fresno 12-16-08) to name a few.
The public agencies in charge of protecting us (FDA, SEC you name it) have morphed into fox guarding the hen house travesties, with moneyed interests stacking the deck for themselves
Suggestions for farmers and farm organizations:
A. Support a moratorium on GMOs We can get new varieties from our universities without gene insertion or silencing
B. Quit standing behind the FDA, like it is just and thorough. This is dishonest. Thinking about our upcoming appointment with the real owner who is infinite truth should make doing this easy.
C. Support anti-trust enforcement against the major corporations that buy our commodities and supply our inputs.
D. Support reform that gets the corrupting influence of these companies and their money out of our government and academia to protect the public
E. Give activists more eloquent than me like Mark Kastel Cornucopia Institute, Jeffrey Smith Institute for Responsible Technology, Dr Arpad Pusztai or any one else speaking the truth the time of day.
John Coelho
Terra Linda Farms