Sunday, November 02, 2014

US: GMO Food Labelling At The Crossroads - Democracy V. Corporatocracy

Final votes will be tallied, on November 4, in two hard-fought and highly publicized state mandatory GMO food labeling ballot initiatives: Measure 92 in Oregon and Initiative 105 in Colorado.

It is no exaggeration to say that these two crucial ballot initiatives will determine the future of chemical-intensive, genetically engineered agriculture in North America.

Despite the fact that the Gene Giants (Monsanto Dupont, Dow, Syngenta, BASF, and Bayer), backed by the world’s largest junk food manufactures (Coca Cola, Pepsi, Kraft, General Mills, Kellogg’s), have spent over $30 million to mislead and confuse voters in these two states, latest indications are that voters in at least one state, Oregon, will vote for mandatory labeling, while voters in Colorado (where the Yes on GMO labeling forces have been outspent 25-to-1) may still pull off the most amazing longshot victory of 2014.

What is important to understand is that a victory in either of these two frontline states will be decisive.

Since genetically engineered (GE) crops and foods were forced onto the market in the 1990s by Monsanto and the FDA, with no pre-market safety testing and no labels required, consumers have mobilized to either ban or to require mandatory labeling of these “Frankenfoods.”

Fear and anger against Frankenfoods have spawned an unprecedented national grassroots Movement that has persevered for over two decades, despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent by the GMO and junk food industries to buy off federal and state lawmakers and regulatory agencies.

America’s contemporary food fight is not just a battle for health and sustainability, but a fundamental struggle over whether we and our children will live in a Democracy or a Corporatocracy.

taken from here




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