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Labeling law would take away right to know

The House has passed HR 1599, which prevents the Food and Drug Administration from mandating the labeling of genetically engineered foods. This bill takes away consumers' right to know what kind of ingredients make up their food.

It remains to go through the Senate, and we only have until September to stop it. As the public we need to speak out and tell our senators to vote "no."

I agree with the view of the labeling advocates that Mary Clare Jalonick's describes in her article "5 things: House bill would prevent mandatory GMO labeling." The bill pre-empts state and local labeling that already exists.

Its supporters say that without it, the existing regulations are too confusing for consumers because the rules vary from state to state. However, consumers have supported labeling until now; the biotech industry is the only one confused.

The bill would undo regulations that consumers already support: 130 existing local and state statutes, regulations, and ordinances in 43 states.

Jalonick writes that the Food and Drug Administration says that genetically modified organisms, GMOs, are safe. However, the FDA is gravely mistaken. GMOs are resistant to herbicides like glysophate, which has been listed by the World Health Organization as a possible human carcinogen.

As Jalonick points out, most corn and soy are genetically modified and are spread with this herbicide; humans, and the animals we eat, consume these crops, along with high-fructose corn syrup, cornstarch and soybean oil.

By not mandating that GMOs be labeled, and by overriding regulations that require labeling, this bill endangers not only the public's decision-making, but its health as well. Let's protect our right to know. Join the Food & Water Watch in Illinois and call your senators to tell them to vote "no."

Valeria Stutz

Evanston

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