Oregon Prepares to Just Say NO! to GMO

GMOs have been injected into everything from baby formula to our dairy, and even our meat.

(NEWPORT, OR) - Health conscious Oregonians are mounting a campaign to demand that GMO foods be labeled as such. The group behind this effort has a web site oregonrighttoknow.org. They have one month to gather enough signatures to place this issue on the state-side ballot in November.

The group advises that by early June, Oregonians will be able to go to the website and download a signature sheet to sign, and mail back to the organizers. They ask that you download several and get the signatures of your friends and family and mail them back by the end of June. One hundred thousand signatures are needed by the filing date of July 2, to get this onto the November ballot. The website also has a link to sign up as a volunteer.

Organizers say “If we ‘miss’ passing it this year, future efforts will be buried in Big Money from the corporations who profit from the GMO process. This will translate into a mountain of misinformation and large advertising budgets for TV and mail campaigns to confuse the general public.” For this reason, it is urgently important to get the signatures and pass this sooner rather than later.

Experts tell us that GMO* Foods are dangerous to our health and the environment. We want them to be LABELED so that shoppers will be able to make informed choices. We have a RIGHT to know what is in our food. Many European countries have legislated the outright ban of GMOs. Entire crops of GMO corn have been destroyed to eradicate their ability to pollute crops of Real Food.

GMOs have been injected into everything from baby formula to our dairy, and even our meat. If you live in Europe, avoiding GM foods is easier since laws require labeling. However in the US and Canada, food manufacturers are not required to label an alert to shoppers informing them if their food is genetically modified or not.

There has been success in having milk labeled – look for milk that says that it contains NO GE hormone rBGH/rBST. Look for foods that are 100% organic. Just because something says ‘organic’ is not enough. For example, eggs labeled "free-range", "natural", or "cage-free" are not necessarily GE-free; look for eggs to be 100% organic.

Michele Jacobson is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist and author and is a frequent contributor to the NOFA-Journal. She lectures on nutrition, how to eat and shop for healthier food in the American marketplace, and health benefits derived from traditional diets of the world. She explains why we want to avoid GMO foods. Jacobson says that while human studies are sparse to date, there is a broad call for more research due to suspicion that foods made from GMO plants are linked to an increase in allergies. Indeed, “soy allergies skyrocketed by 50% in the UK, soon after GM soy was introduced.” Additionally, “scientists recently found GE insecticide in corn showing up in the umbilical cords of pregnant women.” She asks “do you want to be the next guinea pig?” We should not have to work so hard to avoid ingesting these questionable lab experiments.

In all the many articles written concerning GMOs, one constant runs through it all. ‘Results are inconclusive’ – and it is suggested we demand more testing from the FDA. Former Monsanto VP Michael Taylor now heads the FDA. Hence, their oversight leans strongly toward Corporate well-being, rather than personal health and well being of the individual. Despite many petition drives asking the government to remove him, and the Corporate influence over Government food policies, Taylor continues as the Food and Drug Administration's deputy commissioner for food safety.

Farmed salmon treated with GMO injections experience growth at twice the normal rate. This biological tendency is transferred into humans, when eating this GMO farmed salmon. While of course, it creates huge profits for the companies engaged in the production of this ‘food’, common sense indicates this cannot be a good thing for the people. The health of Americans has been declining steadily decade by decade. Heath issues such as early maturity, obesity, diabetes and other diseases not heard of a century ago, are now rampant across our country.

In Oregon, we are taking a stand against profits over people. Infertility and immune function and changes in major organ function were unheard of when families were putting Real Food on their dinner table. This alternation creates large profits for health insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry. What is more important – Big Profits or Good Health?