by Michael Strickland
I became a co-founder for GMO Free Idaho and we have steadily grown. We have formed important relationships with local farmers, food producers, and other activist groups to help raise awareness and create transparency in the food supply. GMO Free Idaho is part of a national coalition, The GMO Action Alliance. We have partnered with national GMO awareness groups, and we are growing our grassroots movement here in Idaho through social media, speaking events, presentations, film screenings and booths at festivals and markets. - Jenny Easley
"Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the F.D.A.'s job" - Phil Angell, Monsanto's director of corporate communications. "Playing God in the Garden" New York Times Magazine, October 25, 1998.
Almost everyone has an opinion about GMOs. The biotechnology industry says the genetic modification of food crops can increase yields, extend shelf life and reduce food waste. Advocates believe GMOs may be the key to feeding a growing global population.
Yet, genetically modified organisms remain controversial because of conflicts over labeling and the threats they pose to organic and non-GMO food producers. Several nations have required labeling or banned the import of GMO foods. Voters in several U.S. states have defeated GMO-labeling measures.
City Club of Boise and Idaho Environmental Forum are having a forum called: The Effects of GMOs on Idaho Agriculture with Trent Clark, Monsanto and Jenny Easley, GMO Free Idaho.
The issues are not black and white. Farmers and ranchers, for instance, are caught between needing every technological edge to make a profit in a highly competitive industry and do their best to sustain the land.
Other farmers must face how to protect crops from cross-contamination. Can GMO and non-GMO coexist? In November, Monsanto settled for $2.1 million with a group of Oregon wheat farmers who discovered rouge patches of GMO wheat in their fields that caused suspensions of wheat exports to Japan and South Korea.
The speakers will explore these issues and answer audience questions.
More information is available at http://www.cityclubofboise.org/
Trent Clark is Public and Government Affairs Director at Monsanto, a large agribusiness perceived as one of the nation's foremost advocates of GMO development.
Jenny Easley is co-founder and president of the non-profit GMO Free Idaho, which works with consumers, farmers and businesses to make informed decisions regarding GMOs and understand how they affect the environment, economy and health.
"Ultimately, it is the food producer who is responsible for assuring safety" - FDA, "Statement of Policy: Foods Derived from New Plant Varieties" (GMO Policy), Federal Register, Vol. 57, No. 104 (1992), p. 229