Labeling genetically engineered foods

Labeling genetically engineered foods

GMO label necessary

An ear of genetically altered corn waits to be harvested in Illinois.[Scott Olson/Getty Images.]

It’s no surprise that chemical companies such as Monsanto and Bayer own and promote genetically modified seeds.

Herbicide resistance is one of the outcomes of the process. The result: pour on the Roundup (glyphosate), as it’s not going to harm the modified, immune food crop.

But how about the people who eat the poison and harvest the crop that has received higher levels of the herbicide? Not to mention the collateral damage to beneficial insects such as pollinator bees and birds.

I want genetically engineered food to be labeled, and maybe shunned.

Sharon Stroble, Seattle

GMOs are trouble

I fervently hope that Washington voters do some research on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) before they decide whether or not to label products containing them.

GMO seeds that Monsanto has foisted upon farmers in other countries have produced disastrous results with terrible, long-term consequences, including soil sterilization and erosion, pollution of ground water, deforestation and the destruction of natural resources. This is serious, because the damage can be irreversible.

Proponents of GMOs claim that independent science groups have found no evidence of ill health effects. That is false.

More than 35 countries have adopted legislation either limiting the imports of GMOs, which has resulted in heavy loss of American export revenue, or requiring the labeling of food containing them, which we are now considering.

These are not inconvenient truths we can just shrug off and ignore. I hope Washington voters will look carefully into the ramifications of the decision we will make in the fall.

Steve Lequire, Des Moines

Seattle Times letters to the editor