Nathan Horne, Brooklyn dad of two (and my husband) isn’t one to stand on a soapbox but GMO’s have been a hot topic everywhere (including in our household) and here are his thoughts.
As many of you already know, GMO’s are genetically modified organisms, which, among other things, are the primary source of genetically modified foods. Although introduced more than a decade ago, there has been much uproar in the past couple years about the potential serious health risks that GM foods pose to our global food supply and to the environment.
The largest share of the GMO crops planted globally are from seed created by the US firm Monsanto (other notable players are Dow and DuPont Chemical). Originally a chemical producer, Monsanto shifted into agri-business years ago by developing a pesticide resistant strain of seed and have since become the dominant force in the US agriculture realm while successfully spending millions of dollars each year lobbying congress.
Big Agriculture pervades our government, but there should be a separation of food and state as long as the fed is regulating and legislating our food supply. There are a number of key White House and federal government positions held by former employees or board members of Monsanto. And then there is the Monsanto Protection Act, which was just signed into law and which essentially exempts biotech firms such as Monsanto from judicial review. A company like Monsanto, which occupies such a large stake of the US food supply should not be able to use their weight to corner the market and force legislation through which may not be in the best interest of Americans.
I won’t pretend that I know all about the ins and outs of the scientific and political angles on this issue and I can’t speak to the global food supply picture, but I’ve chosen to follow my nose on this one. I’m going to make every effort to purchase non-GMO food for my family and use my dollar to support companies that don’t contribute to Monsanto in any way, shape or form. A lot of food brands that you have come to know and love are complicit in the Monsanto scheme. I’m not one to insist upon eating veggies that were grown less than a block from my kitchen, but to me the food that is being produced by Big Agriculture and packaged by many common household brands as ‘a natural alternative’ is deceptive and it scares me that my kids might be unknowingly eating food produced from these genetically modified strains. Many of these companies on the hot seat sell products that contain GMO’s or have made monetary contributions to Monsanto.
I have other related concerns…the future of small farmers, environmental fallout as a result of GMO’s and how will I ever afford my kids’ college tuition, but that’s for another column. Also, I wouldn’t eat a cloned chicken.
This was a simple commentary and I’m sure there are advocates and detractors on A Child Grows. I hope you all do your own research and arrive at your own conclusions.
Nathan Horne is a Brooklyn dad of two and the Business Development Manager for Song Division, global pioneer of music-based interactive songwriting programs. Corporate team building, experiential marketing, conference energizers and gala awards programs.