PROP 37 is PRO FARMER, NOT ANTI FARMER HAS
IOWA FARMER SUGGESTS

http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=1991334



From the Iowa Farmer Against 37:

Dear Californian,

I can’t vote on Proposition 37 this Election Day, but I’m watching it closely, all the way from my farm in Iowa.

This ballot initiative isn’t just bad for California — it’s bad for America.

Here’s the problem: Prop 37 is an extremist measure that will raise food prices without making food safer or consumers more knowledgeable. Worst of all, it will stifle innovation all over the United States.

The fundamental idea behind Prop 37 is that there’s something wrong with the kind of food I’ve raised and you’ve eaten for more than 15 years. This is a strange claim because there’s nothing unusual about my corn and soybeans. They’re just like the vast majority of the corn and soybeans planted and harvested in California and elsewhere: genetically modified to resist weeds and pests.

Because these crops carry a natural resistance to weeds that steal moisture and insects that munch on roots and leaves, they grow stronger and healthier. This means more food and better food for everyone — and less dependence on herbicides and pesticides.

American food security and the health of our environment depend on biotechnology. It allows us to grow more food on less land, which is the very definition of sustainable agriculture.

The backers of Prop 37 just ignore this, but they do say that consumers should know if their food contains biotech ingredients. The irony is that consumers who feel a need to avoid biotechnology already can do so: They look for the organic label.

So the brand-new labels mandated by Prop 37 are pointless, except in the eyes of special-interest groups that want to manipulate consumer preferences, in a bid to drive grocery-store shoppers away from conventional food and toward organic varieties. As a Stanford University study showed last week, organic food is not healthier than other kinds — but it sure is more expensive.

There’s another profit motive at work behind Prop 37: trial lawyers. They’re chomping at the bit to http://westernfarmpress.com/government/prop-37-feast-lawyers
" target="_blank">sue food producers for petty violations of arcane rules.

Ten years ago, voters in Oregon faced a ballot referendum similar to Prop 37. They had the good sense to reject it, especially after learning that it would cost families hundreds of dollars in additional food costs each year. In our slow-growth economy, this is a price that few can afford to pay, especially low-income families and seniors who live on fixed incomes.

Even Californians who don’t alter their eating habits will see their bills go up as food producers redesign packages and processors segregate food so that it satisfies the complicated requirements of a new bureaucracy. Consumers, of course, will pick up the tab for these changes.

Prop 37 beyond California borders »


1:49 pm
October 2, 2012


http://westernfarmpress.com/government/iowa-farmer-california-s-prop-37-impac...



COMMENTS

Discuss this Article 4
Anonymous (not verified) on Sep 14, 2012
As a food consumer in CA who wishes to avoid transgenic food, labeling of GMO food will save me money as I will no longer need to buy costly organic food to avoid transgenic food. GMO corn and soy sell for less on the world market than conventional and organic corn and soy, so why are USA consumers paying the same price for GMO food ingredients as they would for conventional soy and corn (not GMO, but not organic)? People who don't care if they eat GMO food will also get cheaper food, as the artifical price support price for these GMO foods will no longer be in place once GMO's are labeled. The biotech companies have a marketing problem that should have been addressed before spending large sums on research and development of GE crops:people don't trust chemical companies with a long history of degrading human and environmental health (DDT, 2,4-d, PCB's) to create DNA cocktails for their dinner table. There is no advantage for consumers with GMO's- there is only risk.
reply
Frankie (not verified) on Sep 23, 2012
Amen brother,
We did a study and found that we could radically expand our market(s) once conventional food is labeled. People will buy our food before organic IF it's labeled "No GMOs".
Prop 37 won't stifle innovation, it'll stifle profits on Wall Street which owns and controls the biotech companies.
None of the companies donating millions to fight Prop 37 are i California. The little lady who started the brushfire and got over a millon signatures from Californians is a local gal.
Good luck in Iowa sir. I hope you rethink your position. p.s. Check out Dr. Don Huber's work at Purdue University.
reply
Anonymous (not verified) on Sep 17, 2012
I find it interesting that you want to dictate what I eat without my knowledge when your organizations fought canola oil as being unsafe. Do the independent third party testing to see if it is safe and let the consumer decide. Just as they do in Europe and Japan.
reply
Frankie (not verified) on Sep 23, 2012
I have tried to find long term human studies on GMOs before their approval and couldn't find anything.
The French Rat Study, just out, is damning. No one is going to want to buy GMOs soon.
I think that Prop 37, the labeling of GMO food is a great idea for farmers; here's why:
A huge market segment of people are suspicious of conventional food. They are buying organic which has no allowable GMOs. We can capture a good portion of that when foods are labeled for GMOs, that is, we can sell non-GMO conventional food that is inexpensive and has the perception of being healthier, whether you believe it or not.
p.s. After about twenty tries, I gave on registering for an account at Western Farm Press. Your Captcha window has a bug and never allows you to register.

THE SEEDS OF FREEDOM MOVIE

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