Green | August 05, 2008 | 29 comments

Dennis Kucinich introduces three bills regarding genetically modified food safety

source: http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=99109

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JanforGore
Washington, Jul 30 -

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced three bills designed to protect consumers, defend farmers' rights, and increase food safety yesterday. The bills collectively create a comprehensive framework to regulate genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

We have a responsibility to put the public health and the environment before profits. These bills spell out common sense precautions.

The three bills are titled, respectively, H.R. 6636, The Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act, H.R. 6635, The Genetically Engineered Safety Act, and H.R. 6637, The Genetically Engineered Farmer Protection Act.

H.R. 6636, The Genetically Engineered Food Right To Know Act, would require mandatory labeling of all foods that contain or are produced with genetically modified material. A legal framework to ensure labeling accuracy without significant economic hardship would also be established.

H.R. 6635, The Genetically Engineered Safety Act, would require that genetically engineered foods follow a food safety review process to prevent contamination of food supplies by pharmaceutical and industrial crops. This Act would also require that the FDA screen all genetically engineered foods to ensure they are safe for human consumption.

H.R. 6637, The Genetically Engineered Farmer Protection Act, places liability from the impacts of genetically engineered organisms on the biotechnology companies that created the GMOs, and protects farmers from law suits by biotechnology companies

We are eating genetically engineered foods every day. Farmers are sowing genetically engineered seeds every day. Yet, we have never studied the long term effects of genetically modified organisms on our health, our children or our environment. Congress must take steps to maximize the benefit and minimize the risks of biotechnology.

Congressman Kucinich has used his position as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy to examine food safety issues and the rights of farmers. A Subcommittee hearing held by Rep. Kucinich in March examined the impact on farmers caused by contamination of conventional crops by genetically engineered plants significantly influenced these bills.
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THANK YOU Dennis Kucinich! Now what we need to do is call his office and tell him we support these bills, and send this on to our own Congress members and tell them to support them too. Perhaps we will have some progress on this if people join together and hold Congress to doing its job. At least Dennis Kucinich is doing his.
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29 comments // Dennis Kucinich introduces three bills regarding genetically modified food safety

  • stopnoise
    • 0
      stopnoise  

    • I also Thank you Jan! You have opened my eyes and mind on this issue of Food Manipulation. Some of us know how hard it is to stand up against big business. You are teaching and motivating us all that we must stand up for what it is wrong. This also expose the corruption of big business. Possibly Monsanto might use all its power to deny their practices. Keep on doing!

    • 4 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • huntre: Thanks for the remembrance of Paul Wellstone... another great man who stood up for the people who knew what Monsanto was all about and tried to fight it. He knew what they were doing in Columbia with Roundup and stood up against Cheney.... and now he is gone. We definitely need more like him.

    • 4 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • Yes, it is important and people need to know about these bills... but for some reason GMOs and Monsanto are not allowed on tv in America. I guess it can't upset corporate sponsors.

    • 4 years ago
  • cibalin
    • 0
      cibalin  

    • Current news..This should be on your top news.. please everyone vote this up..we need to let people know about this..it needs to be put out there.And thank-you Jan for this. This is so important!!!!

    • 4 years ago
  • stopnoise
    • 0
      stopnoise  

    • Talking about the Congress, I was just listing to the Republicans on the floor and they where talking that we need to use the oil that we have here in the USA because this is the solution for jobs. For GOD sake there is a blind elephant in the room and we need to get rid of it first before it crash and destroy everything.

    • 4 years ago
  • queenofit
    • 0
      queenofit  

    • Here is a nice tune that I ran across recently regarding labeling food. I put it here as a tribute to this great effort by Congressman Kucinich.

    • 4 years ago
  • allIknowis
  • jubal
  • allIknowis
    • 0
      allIknowis  

    • on their face the 3 bills sound really good and much needed. I think Kucinich is mostly a crack pot, but these sound really needed. I know i'm writing my congressman, again.
      Just buy local, organic food support your local farmer, save the fuel to transport the food and it tastes much better. The food we buy should by right cost 2 to 3 times what we pay at the major grocery stores, even more than Whole Food prices.

    • 4 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • whocontrolstheworld: I couldn't agree with you more. Many do not know about GMOs and we do need to get that information out. This is a good start.

    • 4 years ago
  • JohnA
  • SeaJade
    • 0
      SeaJade  

    • More for those who would like to see more of and learn more about Dennis Kucinich. He hasn't just stepped up to the plate recently, he has always been this way. He is a very different kind of politician and person than 99% of the others who have sold us out. He keeps his life simple, his integrity is still in tact... The mainstream media suppressed his offerings and ignored his humanitarian policies.... In today's mainstream media manipulation, it will give you a clue if someone who is striving to bring forth balance and a more sustainable world on many levels is left out of the media, then they probably have something powerful and good to do and say!

    • 4 years ago
  • victimofcoal
  • whocontrolstheworld
    • 0
      whocontrolstheworld  

    • Here is a short clip of Vandana Shiva talking about GMOs and the US.

      I believe the problem is that most people just do not know about GMOs. We need to get this information out there in a way that mass American can apply itself to. This should be an ISSUE. I mean, who doesn't like to be forced into doing anything, like eating mad scientist food, more than an American?

      These bills are a great first step.

    • 4 years ago
  • huntre
  • JudahEvan
    • 0
      JudahEvan  

    • Thanks jan. I think personal-choice conservative politicians have a hypocritical tendency here when they promote alterations to natural existence in the name of either fighting poverty or the economy. This is a modification to plants, a part of nature. Framed in that way, doesn't the discussion here lean towards an ethical one?? With that, shouldn't Doctor "No" conservatives who oppose stem-cell research and abortion and even cloning be opposed to genetically modified food?? (as well as modified diets of our meat, i.e. grain for cows?). Irregardless of the donations from GE, shouldn't these types of Republicans co-sponsor this bill to make it bi-partisan??

      I'll keep a look out for any bi-partisan traction here.

    • 4 years ago
  • queenofit
    • 0
      queenofit  

    • This is the best news yet! I will get busy and try to contact our humble servants, and see if they will do the "next right thing".

      Thanks JanforGore~

    • 4 years ago
  • rabidlemur
  • Becky6378
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • Well, I do know Monsanto has given $$$ to both parties and they have quite an impressive lobbying group, so I can't say for sure. And of course, Monsanto and others will be lobbying against this hard for sure no doubt, and since Bush and his cronies are allied with them I am sure this will not be easy to get passed. I tend to think it will go more along ethical lines and like many things $$$$, which makes it all the more harder to pass anything in Congress. Which is why we have to voice our support for this and our outrage at the criminal way in which these companies have continually gotten away with using the American public as guinea pigs without proper disclosure of the products we buy and their health effects on us and the effects on the environment.

    • 4 years ago
  • JudahEvan
  • bluestranger
  • SeaJade
  • damnneargenius
    • 0
      damnneargenius  

    • "We have a responsibility to put the public health and the environment before profits. These bills spell out common sense precautions."

      Common sense in Washington eh? Sound like a good start.

    • 4 years ago
  • HITLERS_MOUSTACHE
    • 0
      HITLERS_MOUSTACHE  

    • Dennis Kucinich.......write in candidate for Prosident of the UnUnited States.....better still.....lets just say he won........most politicians are genetically altered.......less compassion.......much more ego........GoldenRuler.......Richard.........

    • 4 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • MeganMcKenzie
  • onechance
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