Thanks again Tom. I've been able to buy organic, Iowa milled and grown Buckwheat flour without GMOs. Not easy to find such products. Phyllis On Tue, 1 Apr 2014 20:47:00 -0500 Fred Rosenberg <[log in to unmask]> writes: Just saw this – beautifully stated, Thomas! From: Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Thomas Mathews Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2014 6:36 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Fwd: Genetically Engineered Food Foes Promote 'Bill Of Rights' For Seeds Beth Grossman gets it: The problems with GMOs are not only related to food safety, the safety of chemcal pesticides, and the economics of farming. The larger issue is ethical: whether humans have the right to permanently--in the laboratory--alter the genetic structure of organisms which have taken millions of years to evolve. Do we, in other words, have the right to shred the web of life?--Tom -----Original Message----- From: Laurel Hopwood <[log in to unmask]> To: CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Fri, Mar 21, 2014 12:12 pm Subject: Genetically Engineered Food Foes Promote 'Bill Of Rights' For Seeds What a cool story ... http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.co m/2014/03/20/genetically-engineered-food-foes-promote-bill-of-rights-for- seeds/ Genetically Engineered Food Foes Promote 'Bill Of Rights' For Seeds (edited) A local artist joined city officials in Brisbane to introduce an art exhibit and "Bill of Rights for Seeds" in an effort to bring attention to the proliferation of genetically engineered food and people's rights to define their own food systems. Mayor Clarke Conway was set to present the seed bill of rights at a public reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at City Hall as part of an unveiling of an art exhibit by Brisbane artist Beth Grossman. Grossman said she was inspired by the constitutions of Bolivia and Ecuador to create the "Bill of Rights for Seeds," which lays out measures that cities and other governments can take to better protect the environment and to be aware of the potential dangers of genetically engineered foods, also known as genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. According to the Sierra Club, genetically engineered foods could create new allergens and toxins and spread harmful traits to non-GMO crops, and the overuse of genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant crops has prompted more herbicide use and herbicide-resistant plants. "The overriding problem is just that we don't know what's going to happen when genetically engineered seeds start to germinate in the future," Grossman said. She also cited the disproportionate level of control over the world's food systems by only a handful of biotechnology corporations such as Monsanto. The 'bill of rights' is written in ink on seed bags in quill ink. "It's a literal bill of rights for seeds but it's also more metaphorical in the sense that we as humans need to consider ourselves stewards of all of the natural organisms in the world," Grossman said. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp