Food Labelling

Greetigs, the following article first appeared at the Suite on June 16, 2000. I have made a few changes but as the topic is still relevant and relates to the self-reliance theme I have been exploring it was worth revisiting.

Anyone who thinks that growing their own food is easy; simply a matter of throwing a few seeds in the ground, needs a season like this one. Cool temperatures, little sun and lots of rain make for a slow start; the perennials are doing okay, but anything planted from seed is off to a slow start. This is the weather that you need to make use of every bit of your season extending knowledge or you'll lose it all.

Although this was written about the Spring of the year 2000, it applied to this Spring all too well.

Let's face it, if you want to achieve self-reliance or at least exercise some control over your life, then you need knowledge and that's one of the things that annoys me most about genetically modified food, the lack of consumer choices and the knowledge of what is ge food perhaps, better known as Frankenfood, and what is not. The companies refuse to label and the Canadian government agrees with them.

I want to know that the apple that I am buying and planning to eat is pure apple. If it has been genetically modifeid then i want a label that says so. Otherwise, unless it is organic, I do not know what I am eating and therefore will not buy it.

I've written about Frankenfood bef ore. Since that article I have found little evidence to support the claims made by Monsanto and others. What is really ticking me off on top of the legitimate concerns that are being expressed is that fact that Frankenfoods have been on the market fo a number of years and we were not told.

The alleged experts, who support genetic modification, are please to point out that ge-modified products, such as canola and soybean, have been on the market for, at least, five years. They make the false claim that this means the foods are harmless. What studies have they done to support the claim. All they have managed to do is trick the consumer and this is not something they should be proud of doing.

Consumers have a rightto know what they are buying. I believe that this is doubly true when what they are buying is food which is eaten and then interacts with us in a most intimate way. I, also, believe that there are a number of reasons to be concerned about what impact Frankenfood will have on people and the environment.

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