Wouldn’t you like to know?

July 31, 2014

Reading the article by Daryl Kramp, Member of Parliament for Prince Edward-Hastings, Kramp proposes changes to nutrition information on food labels in last week’s edition of Bancroft This Week I was surprised to see no mention of adding labels to our food that contain Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) as ingredients. Why is it that we continue to allow ourselves to be Guinea Pigs for this experiment? Most countries in Europe have labels that state whether or not a food product contains GMOs. Why is it that us North Americans don’t care about the food we put in our bodies. The effects of these toxic foods have on us and the environment are unknown. How do you feel about feeding carcinogenic “frankenfoods” to your kids without having the ability to opt out? We know how dangerous these plants are for bees and pollinators and biodiversity, maybe they are not so good for us also.

It is hard to believe that Stephen Harper, the man who cut the number of food-safety inspectors in Canada to a record low in 2012 to save a few “loonies”cares about what the majority of Canadians eat. I don’t know what it is, but there is something about eating a pig that has been spliced with human genes, or a plant that has been genetically modified to contain carcinogenic pesticides that doesn’t sit right with me.

If the Conservatives really want to make it easier for us to read and understand food labels so we can make healthy food choices for ourselves and our families, they need to add GMOs to the list of ingredients. Apparently they are looking for public input on this through online public consultations from July 14 to Sept. 11. Strange, but the press release didn’t have a website to go to, to take part in the consultation. Maybe they don’t want to hear from us after all.

Alice Tompkins

Paudash Lake