>wouldn't it be easier to just label the
>non-engineered items "certified organic" than to label every aspect of
>every technology that went into the food? All those new technologies
>(except traditional breeding) are carefully screened for safety by
>government agencies.
For those of us who have dealt with those *government agencies*, I'd like
to remark that I don't believe the *safety* at all. Our County Health
Officer is rarely informed of pesticide poisoning because 1) the doctors
don't really seem to know what to look for; 2) they hate to fill out all
the forms; and 3) the clinics don't report pesticide poisonings because
they are likely to have a contract with the grower and don't want to
lose it.
Drift accounts for much of the illness now being recognized
as related to pesticides yet it is totally disregarded; even though the
labels of many pesticides say they should not be used in case of an
inversion, that is when most farmers here spray--because the wind
isn't blowing!
The problem with that is the inversion layer bounces the pesticide back
down to earth only broadcast over a much wider area.
The rules made by the governmetn and very haphazardly enforced here
do not ensure safety to me. Meat, for example, is rarely inspected these
days--perhaps only 2% is inspected before being sold to the public.
The pesticides may have been tested but they were tested by the manufacturer,
and were not tested in conjunction with any other pesticides so it is highly
likely that you are getting quite a bouquet of chemicals when you eat
strawberries for example. Strawberries get the most chemicals of any
crops near where I live. No strawberries are tested after picking for their
safety to eat.
So, I wouldn't agree with you that *all those new technologies are carefully
screened for safety*--and in fact would say that people who believe that may
be in for rude awakenings should they read some of the books I've recently read
such as "Spoiled" and "Mad Cowboy".
And, the newer the technology, the fewer years of experience we have with it.
We should apply the Precautionary Prinicple for these technologies while
we still have time.
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