The Problem with GM Foods is Systemic.

As I have looked back on my blog this week and all the issues genetically modifying food brings up, it occurs to me that I couldn’t have picked a better topic for my social justice class.  It has been so easy for Monsanto to take advantage of the American people and the world. They manufacture a product that when it goes on the shelves in the store, and then on the plate, or in the milk glass, you can’t taste it, see it, or smell it. You can’t even tell it is there. You can’t tell that what you are eating has been genetically modified with bacteria, viruses and/or antibiotic marker genes. There have only been a couple of cases that we know for sure that gmo’s have caused allergies and death. Yes GMOs have caused deaths, but that could be because  some  symptoms may take a long time to occur, and because we have no labeling to tell us that the product we consumed was GM, we  likely cannot connect the symptoms to that product.  That is the way the corporate producers want it. No connection mean no liability.

            I got a comment on my blog this week. This is just one persons view but it really opened my eyes to the fact that maybe many people really don’t mind, don’t care or don’t know what harm GMOs could be causing. If you can’t tell if it’s doing harm then it must be fine.

 “Like millions of other Americans, I happen to enjoy genetically modified foods, its all about the taste. Who cares where it comes from as long as it tastes goog, is good for you, and doesn’t kill anyone in the process. If we have the technology to enhance the productivity and effectiveness of our foods, then by all means do so.” 

This person is the genetically modified producer’s best consumer. Perhaps this person just doesn’t know about the super weeds, super bugs, the creation of evolutionary change in our environment, the flora, fauna and possibly in himself.

            We are told that GM food will help feed the poor by helping to increase production. That would be a good thing. But that argument just won’t wash. The truth is there is enough food being produced right now to feed everyone on the planet and plenty of it. The reason people are starving in most cases is the unequal distribution of resources. Rich countries are not making it easy for poorer countries to survive, in fact just the opposite. People in poor countries are starving because their country is in debt, and their government took a loan from the World Bank. To get that loan that poor country had to switch from growing crops for their own people to growing crops for companies for export to rich countries. Probably, to get that loan they had to privatize their water and other social services,  and as part of the loan agreement give the contracts to the rich  countries who come in and charge and arm and a leg for water. Perhaps as much as 25% of their monthly income. The people can now not afford to pay the high price being charged to water their crops, or in some cases to even to drink or bathe. And then they are so busy trying to survive they have no time to complain about anything. Or, as is the case in India, their government allowed because of the loan , test plots of genetically modified cotton to be grown that contaminates the rest of the cotton when they are cross pollinated. Animals that eat the genetically modified cotton have died.

            This  issue brings out all the things that are wrong in our American democracy and all the topics we have covered in class so far. It seems like a small thing, the genetic modification of food, considering we have a war going on right now and an election to attend to, but it is not a small thing. I have said this before, but I will gently repeat it: the genetic modification of our food and the way it is being allowed by our corporate sponsored government, and our consumer society is but a symptom of a larger disease.  

            The wealthy people, and rich companies like Monsanto, who is supported by government institutions like the WTO, the FDA and our elected officials, depend on the disempowerment of the middle class and poor people to not fight back. We have lost our voice, we feel powerless to do anything about it. But by not saying or doing anything we give our consent, even unaware. We are all allowing the patenting of nature, the genetic modification of our a life source in food, allowing it to be fed to us. Without labeling, we don’t even get a say in whether we eat it or not. Mainly because from what I can learn the only way to make sure food is not genetically modified is to buy organic or grow it ourselves, but even that won’t work for long, because all food will soon be contaminated with transgenic genes just by cross pollination. And then who can afford organic food at 2 to 3 times the cost of the average food market. Not the poor. So the poor never get a say at all whether they eat gm products. The poor are fenced off from access to non genetically modified food. And the middleclass average American couple today that needs two incomes to sustain their lifestyle is working so hard many times when the choice comes down to taking the time to go the  food coop where the organic food is, they won’t do it. Not all, but most won’t take the time.  

            To take it a step further we never even got a say in whether we wanted to allow the patenting of nature.  We never got a say in whether we wanted a few companies to hold all the rights to all the genetics on earth, except for most human genes. Those aren’t supposed to be patented yet. We never got a say in whether we wanted to eat gm food. We will have to fight to make sure it is labeled. Like many other things wrong with our democracy we are not getting to decide before it is done. The patenting of genes or genetic life was not allowed for 200 years, and because a couple of guys got to patent a micro-organism to eat oil, all the rest of the genes will now be patented. So it is not just that people aren’t voting, they no longer are allowed a vote before a decision is made.

            Corporations are allowed to contribute to a political candidates campaign, and government officials are allowed to take money from lobbyists. In essence if you have enough money you can buy a politician. Check out all the government officials who have worked for Monsanto in the past or held positions on the board of directors in my earlier blog. In the Future of Food video on this page we are shown that lobbyists buy elected officials special interest votes all the time. That is the way it is done in the US.

            And last but not all, and certainly not least, we have the Washington Consortium, made up of the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank who have been created by government politicians as means of helping the world and the US, but really what have they done? They have allowed the exportation of misery, by giving out loans as I mentioned earlier tied to structural adjustment policies. These loans allow the poor countries to pay the interest on previous loans. The country never gets out of debt, and the people are the ones who suffer. The WTO then fights for corporations, even if that corporation is harming the people or the environment. In the case  of the EU where the people do not want GM contaminated food or crops, the WTO has said we will sanction and sue you if you don’t allow our corporations to sell you GM seeds and food products. They say it is a barrier to free trade to force US corporations to label the food we sell you. Basically they say the people in the EU don’t need to know they are eating GM food, we don’t care if GM seed harms the environment, you have to take it. The EU wants to be cautious, to do more testing to be sure before GMO’s are allowed. The WTO gets away with forcing countries to conform to their policies all the time, without regard for regard for health safety or well being of the people and more so with poor countries. The poor don’t argue as much.  Richer countries are arguing more. They shouldn’t have to argue. If other countries want to protect themselves from transgenic contamination they should be allowed to with no questions asked. Unfortunately it is the US government who has the most say in the WTO. The people of the US have no say and don’t even know how the decisions are made. We just see the results.

            So what do we do? I know that I feel like a lot of people, we shouldn’t have to be fighting to get our country to do the right thing. But we do, and I have accepted that. But how? How do we start to change things? And what do we want that change to look like?  I know I would like to have more of a say in what happens with big issues, at least one vote, which means a more direct democracy. In my next blog I will start to explore how we can start express dissent in opposition to a company like Monsanto, or the government, by exploring how other protesters have done it before. The different methods they used to get results. What the consequences of that dissent might be where increasingly dissent in this country is criminalized. I am not talking about overthrowing the government. I am talking about having a voice in matters that affect myself, our environment, and possibly every other human on the planet.

All photos from Google Images

~ by Lorina Coble on March 17, 2008.