Support Bill C-517 and the Effort to Label Genetically Engineered Food

A private member’s bill supporting mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food in Canada was selected randomly for debate in our House of Commons this month.

Bill C-517 went to second reading on April 3, and a second hour of parliamentary debate could take place in as early as two weeks, as per the House of Commons calendar.  After a second debate, the House will be called upon to vote on the bill.  If you are concerned about feeding your children genetically engineered foods, it’s important to make sure that a majority of Members of Parliament vote in favour of Bill C-517.  If the Bill passes second reading, it will be returned for a third and final reading, followed by a vote by all of Canada’s 301 Members of Parliament.

Right now you may be asking yourself, “What is so bad about genetically engineered food?

• Genetically engineered food destroys biodiversity.  It promotes mono-agriculture and mass corporate farms while destroying soil nutrients.
• Genetically engineered food only benefits rich, large agri-businesses, not small farmers who will be forced to buy their seeds, and more fertilizer and chemicals.
• Genetically engineered food destroys millions of small family farms who can’t afford the annual additional cost of seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and equipment.
• The long-term health effects of genetically engineered foods on humans have yet to be discovered.
• Genetically engineered foods are not sustainable!

Mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods will allow you, as a parent and a consumer, to have access to information about the food you and your family are eating.  It will also pave the way for a gradual withdrawal of genetically engineered foods from the food chain, reducing the dissemination of genetically engineered seeds in the environment.

If you’d like to help spread the word, here’s how you can help:

1. Identify your federal Member of Parliament online.
2. Locate the contact information for the MP in your riding.
3. E-mail your MP’s riding office with the following message:

Dear Sir/Madam,

We all have the right to know what we are eating and the right to not eat genetically engineered foods. I support mandatory labelling of genetically engineered food, which is already practiced in over 40 countries in Europe and elsewhere. Bill C-517 would allow implementation of mandatory labelling in Canada. I am asking you to vote in favour of Bill C-517. Please confirm your intention to support this important bill.

Spread the word!

Comments

[zchamu]

This is the first webpage I've seen that actually says "why" GMOs are bad as opposed to just saying "they're scary!!" I never did put a whole lot of cred into that fear and wanted someone to actually say "why" they were so fearful. Thanks for this!

[Sara]

I thought this bill might be a good idea when it supporters claimed the purpose was the freedom of information to consumers. It is painfully obvious that the true motives--or atleast the hopes proponents have--for the bill is to promote a negative image for GMOs. Greenpeace states that it's a first step towards a ban on GM food products.

GM products are controlled, tested, and regulated better (far better) than the traditional, organic method of mutation--which basically involves using anything to damage the DNA of the plant in order to produce a mutation. GMOs are a safer alternative to randomly mutating/crossbreeding organisms. Most of what we grow can't even survive on it's own--nevermind 'go wild' and destroy biodiversity. Wheat, normal everyday wheat, is an artificial crop that requires human cultivation in order to reproduce. Indeed, eating food that has modified genes 'sounds scary'...but we can't digest DNA--how could eating these genes harm you unless they produced a defect in the product? I don't see any reason why a defect from a GMO would have any less of a chance of being detected during safety checks than with any other organic product.

Lastly, genetic engineering of crops can create an alternative to heavy pesticide use. And if there is the potential for higher yield, we can feed more people using less land...and then maybe we can eventually stop chopping down the rainforests a little bit...maybe?

It's great to be skeptical, but good science needs to be involved in coming to conclusions. Of course GMOs should be tested/used with proper precautions, but there's no reason to ban an entire industry or spread needless fear into the public.