The U.S. House of Representatives voted this week to approve a bill that gives Monsanto and its GMO frankenfoods an unbreakable grip on the U.S. food industry that will jeopardize the health of every living being on the planet.
The bill – being called Monsanto’s Poison Pill by the Food Democracy Now! Organization — is formally labeled HR 1599. The bill makes it illegal for states to pass GMO labeling laws or regulate GMOs in any way. Since it has passed the House, it will now go to the Senate for consideration.
Monsanto’s monumental lobbying effort has failed to take hold on the state level, so, after unsuccessfully spending $100 million over the past three years to kill GMO labeling in the U.S., they turned their bottomless checkbooks on Congress. By all counts, they are winning, despite the fact that the American public is increasingly aware of the health risks from GMOs and RoundUp herbicides universally used on these crops.
Time is short, my friends. Please contact your senators. (Your member of the House of Representatives has most likely already voted on this issue, but it’s fine to let him or her know your opinion as well). Let them know that we don’t want GMOs in our foods and we want to know which foods contain them. Find your senator’s contact information here.
I am a firm believer in the voice of the people. If we are strong enough and loud enough, we will be heard. This is not a time for any of us to sit back and wait for others to take action.
Of course, Monsanto is the owner of the patents on all GMO seeds and it is the manufacturer of RoundUp. The company has made untold billions on poisoning our earth and our bodies. We need to stop this travesty now. Please make your voice heard.
I’ve attached below Food Democracy Now’s suggested letter to your senator. Feel free to cut and paste it or edit it as you please.
Dear Members of Congress,
As your constituent and a supporter of Food Democracy Now!, I am writing because I support mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food and I urge you to vote NO on new legislation that would not only undermine states’ rights to pass GMO labeling laws, but would also preempt local elected officials in states, counties and cities from passing reasonable regulations regarding genetically engineered crops. This is outrageous attempt at corporate protection, putting Monsanto’s profits over the rights of American citizens.
Public opinion polls regularly show that more than 90% of Americans support GMO labeling and it’s time that the U.S. join the rest of the civilized world when it comes to transparency in our food supply. For the past 20 years the U.S. government has continued to deny any risk from genetic engineering, despite increasing scientific evidence that this flawed technology is potentially harmful to human health and the environment.
Already, 64 other countries around the world inform their citizens if their food has been genetically engineered in a laboratory with simple labels, and it’s time that we share that basic right.
