To the editor:

Labeling GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) now is important because if we do not put laws on the books that favor labeling, we may lose the legal ability to ever put a label on GMO foods in the future.

The grocery lobby and biotech industry are making efforts to pass legislation on a federal level that would prohibit labeling.  The Massachusetts GMO Labeling Bill, H.3242, ensures that consumers are legally allowed to avoid genetically engineered seeds and foods without influencing their opinions.

The words “genetically engineered” do not question the impacts of GMO’s on human or environmental health. A simple label is not an investigation into the implications for farmers who are buying expensive, patented seed and signing legal contracts full of promises and obligations.

The words “genetically engineered” do not ask whether our government should use taxpayer dollars to promote GMO’s domestically and across the globe.  These words are not an inquiry into the rationality of planting a majority of our staple food crops with seeds that are corporate controlled and genetically identical.  They are not a research paper on the cultural ramifications of replacing farmers’ formerly diverse seed stock which had been regionally selected over generations for maximum resilience and desirability.

These words are simple, descriptive, and true, and they restore the right of consumers to make these inquiries themselves and to then use their purchasing power to either support or divest.  With the ever growing amount of GMO ingredients in our foods, now is the time to secure our ability to decide for ourselves.

Representative Paul Schmid has the power to put this bill up to vote and secure these rights for us.  Please call him and urge him to do so.

Dee Levanti

Grower and eater

Westport