EDITOR,
Thank God many local and regional lawmakers voted in favour of the resolution on genetically engineered (GE) foods at the recent Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) conference. The resolution requests that the provincial government enact legislation prohibiting the importation, exportation and production of GE foods. Tragically, the Village of Pemberton has no official position on this important issue, even though I had sent a letter about the GE resolution with information on GE foods in July 2013. Consumers should be very concerned about GE foods. According to the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN), GE foods are approved for human consumption based on data that is secret and not peer-reviewed by independent scientists. Nor does Health Canada conduct any testing of GE foods. In addition, GE plants contaminate other plants because the genes from any crop can move via seed and pollen flow. GM crops also give rise to increased pesticide use, herbicide-tolerant weeds, and the expansion of industrial farming (see http://www.cban.ca/Resources). Let's keep up the pressure on the provincial government to enact legislation banning GE foods in B.C. by writing to your MLA and the Minister of Agriculture, Pat Pimm ([email protected]).
Louise Taylor
Pemberton
