Opinion: Vote yes on Prop. 37

To the community,

Genetically engineered foods are not safe.

The funding of ads opposing Proposition 37 is from biotech companies, like Monsanto, who simply want to make money. Their biotech crops have had no independent testing prior to being released. For example, Monsanto’s corn DNA is blasted with a toxin like Bt, which will make an insect’s stomach explode and kill it when it eats the corn. The scientists who studied this early on found it to be unsafe, and said so. They were promptly fired and discredited.

We have no reason to believe the biotech people telling us these lies. They’ve lied to us about the safety of DDT and more.

GE crops were promoted as a way to feed the world, yet they do not produce more food. They do require more and more pesticides as the weeds and bugs become resistant. Now this same company wants to use 2-4-D, also know as Agent Orange, which was used in Vietnam, with many health problems from rashes and infertility to death.

These crops are fed to our cattle, pigs and chickens. Given a choice, they won’t even eat them. When their only food is GE corn or soy, they become ill and weak. When we eat these same animals or crops we also become ill and weak. It may be less obvious in us as we get a more varied diet.

But look at our nation’s amount of illness. Chronic illness including allergies, asthma, digestive disorders, Parkinson’s, autism, birth defects, infertility, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and much more have steadily increased since the presence of GE foods in our diet. People with many of these illnesses who go to an organic diet see huge health improvements. The animals too, quickly become healthy when fed organic, or at least non-GMO diets.

Scientists have detected the inflamed stomach lining from animals eating GE foods. Our stomachs respond in the same way and go on to develop leaky gut syndrome where food particles are escaping the digestive tract too soon, and enter the bloodstream where our antibodies know they’ve never seen anything like this, and attack them. Oh! An allergic reaction!

Since GE soy’s introduction to the market, allergies to soy have increased by at least 50 percent. Diseases like chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia were unknown before their advent. All chronic illnesses have dramatically increased.

Countries all over the world require labeling of GE foods. It’s time we knew what we are buying to eat. Monsanto is quite well entrenched in the White House and FDA, but our vote can begin to kick them out. All of us eat. We can all vote and express the need to know what’s in our food.

Please vote Yes on Prop. 37!

Sincerely,

Peggy A. Cooley, South Lake Tahoe