Barbara H. Peterson
For some it’s not a matter of choice. It’s GMOs or an empty stomach. Have you been to a food bank lately? Well, I have. For the most part, it’s canned GMOs or nothing. Those are the choices.
I have heard on more than one occasion that it is cheaper to grow your own and eat organic than to spend your money on trips to the doctors and medications, and I agree. However, there is a huge demographic that we are totally ignoring with a brushstroke that is far too wide. What about the people who have nowhere to go but the food banks? What about the people who are living on $100 or less for food for a family of four?
I went into the back room of the local food bank to see just what there was to choose from. You can sign up there to receive one box of food per week for two people, two boxes for four, etc. So, I looked. What I found was that if I was not going to get any GMOs, then I would have to settle for a couple of items in the canned goods section, a couple in the frozen food section, and some fresh veggies that someone donated. This totaled about half a box for two people unless I wanted to eat only canned tomatoes and frozen peas. The food supply is saturated with GMOs, and the people who take it in the shorts are the poorest among us. It doesn’t matter if GMOs are labeled, they are there, and just about the only thing available at the lower end of the food chain.
I spoke to someone the other day and asked about his GMO concerns. He stated that he wanted to go GMO-free, but cannot afford organic on the little money they have. The food bank loads him up with GMOs, and the little time he has left in the day is devoted to growing a portion of the family’s food. Even with all of the precautions the family takes, the bottom line is, the kids need to eat, and it’s either GMOs or an empty belly.
However well-intentioned people are who advocate labeling as the solution to the GMO problem, consider this – If GMOs are just labeled they are still in the food supply. People with little income are forced to buy them because they are on the shelves and are in just about everything that is lower priced. In fact, just about everywhere you go, there’s a GMO. Whack one, and another pops up.
For example, let’s take a look at aspartame. It’s labeled, and just so happens to be feces from GMO bacteria , yet people eat it. And to top it all off, “The dairy industry wants to boost sales by putting aspartame in milk, with school lunchrooms being a primary target.”
Some know what they are eating and think it’s good because they have been told it is by those in positions of power and by the media, others don’t even bother to look at the labels, and some can’t afford to look. If you are living on pennies per day for food, you take what you can get. You take what is cheap to ease the hunger pangs of your children.
Yeah, we can say – grow your own food, but how many people actually will, and how many people have the resources to do so if they can’t even afford to drive a car or do anything but scrape to feed their families? They will eat GMOs, label or not. If GMOs are banned, at least they won’t be eaten by the most vulnerable among us.
And what is the real goal of this whole labeling thing anyway? Is it to sit on our high horses, going through the political process and looking down at the rest of the people just to say “See, we labeled them, now you know, and if you still can’t afford organic or are unable to grow your own food, well, too bad for you, you can just eat labeled GMOs?” That is unacceptable to me, and it should be to you too. That is, if you care about those who have no choice other than to go hungry.
©2013 Barbara H. Peterson
Tags: ban gmo, Barbara H. Peterson, biotechnology, Farm Wars, farmwars, food supply, genetic engineering, GMO, hunger, labeling, monsanto
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. While there are certainly exceptions, I don’t believe that poor people are helpless. Most are just lazy or ignorant or dependent, or all of the above. When people get serious about raising their own food and eating healthy, there are solutions. Look at these two examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCmTJkZy0rM
Either communities of “poor” can collaborate on growing, or the individual can learn how to do it for themselves. Generally, the only things stopping you are laziness, ignorance, or dependency. I look at myself; I’m not rich; I have limited resources, yet I manage to produce and barter for a fresh supply of GMO-free veggies and fruits all by my lonesome. And I KNOW if I can do it, so can anyone else – especially with many people working toward a common goal.
As for the GMO labeling “we can coexist” debate, one has only to look at NaturalNews today and read Mike Adams, one of the primary agents of the biotech industry who advocates the eventual contamination of the food chain via the labeling ruse.
http://www.naturalnews.com/041.....santo.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/GMO_labeling.html
The only real solution to this plague is to ban GMOs entirely and burn them in the field, the latter of which is an idea that needs to catch on – literally – like raging wildfires.
Abe,
Yeah, I just get so up in arms when I think about the arrogance of people who don’t even think twice about people who cannot afford to go high-priced USDA Certified Organic, and glibly say, well, just buy Organic. You can’t? Oh….. It is good to hear that you are finding local organic food. I just found some organic grass hay for my critters from a guy who really knows his hay and doesn’t go in for pesticides. He knows what he is doing and doesn’t price the hay over what others have. People are waking up. There is so much more to genetic engineering than food too. That is merely one aspect. Going to take a look at your link. Thanks!
Now that it’s harvest season, it would be good to talk with you local foodstores higher ups. Like the one that buys local produce. We had Organic corn on the cob the other day for 10 cents an ear. Bought my limit and froze it! All the local produce in our store is organic, but not labelled as such. I had to laugh when I talked to the buyer the otherday and told him I was glad to see that they did label some things as GMO free. The last few months I have been seeing more GMO free products. I’m using the local food shelf also. It’s tough, but you can find some organics. At least here we get to pick and choose what we take. I’ve been seeing a lot of organic canned foods from companies I’ve never heard of before.
I’ve gotten this from air crap today. GMO nano particles in the air. Horrifying!! I hope people can find the time to see both videos here.
An analysis of previous research in the U.S. shows that Morgellons intelligent, self-replicating nano-machines with sensors should be have the genetically modified material and split DNA / RNA strands.You should use the bioelectric energy of the body as an energy source and respond to ELF waves and EL signals.
http://aircrap.org/harvard-smi.....es/338188/