Project Archive: Home | Mission | GMO Free Zone
This page represents the website archives for GMO Free Josephine County (including information regarding
GMO Free Zone, the court case and appeal, and all legislative actions).
gmofreejosephinecounty.org
– Mission –
Who Are We?
We are a grassroots coalition of concerned citizens working together to create a GMO Free Zone in Southern Oregon, through education and action to preserve the integrity of our food and the freedom to grow it.
We are a proactive group working closely with neighboring counties to educate our community about the necessity of protecting our unique bio-region from GMO crops and the health and environmental dangers they pose.
We act with openness and respect toward all people we encounter.
We are non-violent in our actions, word and intent toward people and property.
We seek dialogue with those who may disagree with us and maintain a spirit of openness, friendliness and respect toward all with whom we engage.
We will gather and act in a manner that reflects the world we hope to create.
Our Purpose
To Educate
We raise awareness of the dangers that the Genetic Engineering of plants and animals pose to our communities and our food supply. We help to educate and empower the citizens of Josephine County by sharing information, offering presentations and hosting events that positively affect our long-term goals of community health and local agriculture sustainability.
To Promote & Defend
We believe that our food rights are inalienable. We connect and work with organizations, institutions, and individuals throughout our community who value food purity. We, as a group, embrace and promote only peaceful action, always taking a non-violent stand for the greater good.
To Serve & Support
We serve and support citizens and farmers committed to sound food systems: sustaining, preserving, and increasing the integrity of our seed and food supply, and the legacy of our seed-saving heritage.
What Are GMOs and Why Should I Care?
A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal…and never appear in nature.
This is totally different than conventional plant breeding or hybridization. GMO crops cross pollinate (via wind-drift , carriage by bees and other pollinators , etc) and contaminate non-GMO and organic crops, farms and private gardens.
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) urges physicians to advise all patients to avoid GMO food. Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with consuming genetically modified foods including: infertility, immune problems, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and gastrointestinal systems. Children, with their developing systems, are especially susceptible to the negative effects of a diet containing GMOs.
GMOs and their derivatives are said to be in upwards of 85% of all conventional processed foods in the United States.
Let’s Talk About GMOs
Foods produced in the U.S containing high fructose corn syrup, cottonseed oil and canola oil are most likely genetically modified, and have been grown with higher amounts of toxic herbicides than ever before. These foods include, but are not limited to, conventional processed snack foods, breakfast cereals, baking mixes, sodas, foods with soy ingredients and derivatives, and some infant formulas.
Today, upwards of 85% of all soy, corn, canola, sugar beets, and cotton grown in the United States and Canada are Roundup Ready, genetically modified to resist the toxic herbicide known as Roundup. Since GMO introduction into our food supply in 1996, the use of Roundup has gone up 39% on corn, doubled on soybeans and tripled on cotton. More GMOs means more Roundup herbicide spraying. Roundup is produced by Monsanto, a multinational corporation that also owns much of the world’s seeds.
Do we need GMOs to feed the world?
The problem of hunger is one of distribution, politics, and poverty rather than a food shortage on this planet. According to World Hunger Education Service at www.worldhunger.org “…control over resources and income is based on military, political and economic power that typically ends up in the hands of a minority, who live well, while those at the bottom barely survive, if they do.”
Chemical Industrial Agriculture wants us to believe that in order to feed the world we will have to turn to “efficiency-enhancing technologies.” This means relying on genetic engineering, more antibiotics and growth hormones in animal feed, and increased use of carcinogenic herbicides and pesticides like Roundup.
– GMO Free Zone –
Oregonians for Safe Farms and Families (OSFF) is our sister organization and political arm working in support of the restriction of GMO crops in Josephine County, Oregon. For the most current updates and to view the legal documents, visit Oregonians for Safe Farms and Families
Thank you for continuing to support our efforts to protect the 9th GMO FREE ZONE in the US!