On June 18, 2015, Pope Francis published a detailed
Encyclical letter (a letter addressed to bishops and others who are in
communion with the Holy See) regarding the degradation of our natural
environment—more specifically, the genetically engineered foods that appear
more and more commonly in our daily diet.
While the Pope praised scientific advancements that have
been made, he also accurately stated, “our immense technological development
has not been accompanied by a development in human responsibility, values and
conscience.”[1]
Simply put, we have not evolved to think about whether or not we are using
scientific possibilities in an ethical, healthy way that takes our planet into
account as well.
Think about pesticides and insecticides, for example. As
genetically modified foods contain pesticides in their very makeup, they are
engineered to stand up to “regular” pesticides. As a result, the stronger weeds
that survive end up thriving, creating a need for super-powered pesticides or a
dousing of the usual chemicals. Understandably, this overload of poison is not
only harmful to animals and insects, but also to people breathing the air
around the crops and, of course, ingesting the pesticides in their food.
Pope Francis discussed the issue of GMOs not only from a
religious standpoint but also with regard to ecological and economical
concerns. For instance, the expanding the use of genetically engineered crops
“destroy[s]
the complex network of ecosystems, diminishing the diversity of production and
affecting regional economies, now and in the future…In various countries, we
see an expansion of oligopolies for the production of cereals and other
products needed for their cultivation. This dependency would be aggravated were
the production of infertile seeds to be considered; the effect would be to
force farmers to purchase them from larger producers.”[2]
It is well past time that corporations started thinking less
about profits and more about the health and wellbeing of their customers and of
the earth. But it’s also our responsibility as consumers to demand better.
Representative Mike Pompeo has recently “reintroduced a bill
(HR 1599) that would preempt states’ rights to enact GMO labeling laws, keep
consumers in the dark about what’s in their food, and create an unwieldy, and
unnecessary, federal scheme for voluntary labeling of non-GMO foods.”[3]
Make your opinion on this bill known by following the link below and signing a
petition against it:
And, if you’d like to read more of Pope Francis’s Encyclical
Letter, you can access it here:
[1] “Encyclical letter laudato
si’ of the Holy Father Francis on care for our common home.” June 18, 2015.
Vatican Press.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2015/images/06/18/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si_en.pdf
[2] Id.
[3] “TAKE ACTION: Tell your
representative: Don’t support H.R. 1599, big food’s bill to kill GMO labeling
laws!” Organic Consumers Association 2015.
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=13738
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