We need to take charge of our own health because everyone else is far more concerned about their money. Voting yes on Prop 37 will benefit ourselves and generations ahead.
Prop 37 requires food producers to label any genetic modifications used in their products. Labeling the foods we consume will give us information that will help us make decisions regarding our health.
Genetically engineered foods are abundant. In California there are known to be 40 crops that contain foods that are genetically engineered. We need to be informed about the modifications made to the foods that we eat. Our bodies are being affected by these genetic alternations without us even realizing it.
By early 1996 genetically modified tomatoes had been sold in US supermarkets for more than a year, and GM soy and cottonseed were poised to be planted without knowing if these foods were safe. Scientist Dr. Arpad Pusztai, a Hungarian born chemist, was chosen out of 27 competing scientists for a 1.6 million grant to develop a safety testing protocol on GM foods. This process was supposed to eventually be required for all GM food approvals in Europe.
Pusztai made a grand discovery when took three groups of identical rats and fed them potatoes genetically modified with the gene from the snowdrop plant; the gene produced GNA. Pusztai studied GNA for seven years and initially thought that it was harmless to mammals but his later discoveries as astonishing.
Pusztai fed the GM potato to rats using his new safety testing protocol and within 10 days these rats developed strange tumors. Their brains, testicles and livers had shrunk, while their pancreases and intestines were enlarged. Their white blood cells responded to an immune challenge more slowly, which resulted in immune system damage.
So the question arose; how healthy are these GM foods for us, and how important is it for us to be informed of any genetically modified substance used in the food we eat?
The people who oppose Prop. 37 are worried about the money in their wallets than everyone’s health.
Businesses that distribute GE foods are afraid that putting a “Genetically Engineered” label on the back of their products they will lose customers. They fear that distributing this information will bring about questions such as:
“Why this food is genetically modified, and what harm does it do to us?”
Prop. 37 would add more government bureaucracy and taxpayer costs, create new lawsuits, and increase food costs by billions.
Vote “YES” on Proposition 37.
