On Election Day, California voters will decide on Proposition 37, which would make their state the first in the nation to require the labeling of food products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Democracy Now! hosts a 25-minute debate on Prop 37 with two guests: Stacy Malkan, a longtime advocate for environmental health and spokesperson for the "Yes on 37 California Right to Know" campaign; and David Zilberman, professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at University of California, Berkeley, and director of the Center for Sustainable Resource Development.
The California Department of Public Health would be responsible for labeling everything from baby formula and instant coffee, to granola, canned soups and soy milk. Many major corporations, including Monsanto, Dow Chemical, Pepsi and Coke are spending millions fighting the measure, which stands to impact labeling practices across the country.
Democracy Now! also discusses Prop 37 with best-selling author Michael Pollan, who says that the California initiative could galvanize the growing local food movements across the United States. He explains how major corporations have a strangle-hold on state politicians and Congress to prevent the topic of GMOs from being debated on a national level.
Pollan is the Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley School of Journalism. He's written several books about food, including "The Botany of Desire," "The Omnivore's Dilemma," "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto," "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," and the forthcoming, "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation."
Visit democracynow.org to read the complete transcripts of these interviews.
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-From a liberal Canadian.
This is what democracy is "Democracy" Now. The pro-science people couldn't let the antiScience antiGMO fearmongerers run unopposed.
Approval by the FDA should hardly be reassuring about GMO food. Former Mansanto lawyers have been infiltrating the FDA for almost two decades. The FDA has been creating policy that is pro-corporate and anti-consumer for years now.
I'd be very interested Hazel if you are working for Mansanto and their allies to post these kinds of comments or if you are simply naive about the role of the FDA and it's corporate allegiance.
There are no loopholes in Prop 37.
Who do you think willingly buys GMO seeds?
Monsanto didn't force us to use them. GMOs make pure economic sense.
However, also opposed to Prop 37 are major farm groups, including California Farm Bureau Federation and Western Growers.
These corporations do not represent local farmers. Researching the history of GMO farms and their ability to cross-contaminate neighboring farms is also an issue that needs to be considered in the long run. Many farmers have been victims of GMOs, not willing allies.
In the end, this bill is about the consumer and the consumers right to be informed about the food they consume.
It doesn't prevent farmers from growing GMO food nor does it put any economic burdens in place for farmers who choose to produce GMO food.
If farmers who oppose this bill are simply afraid people will not purchase their food because it is properly labeled, as well as informed about what is in their food, then perhaps it is time for them to think about the consumers interest on not simply their bottom line. Hailing profit above the interest of the consumer is apathetic and inexcusable.