Dear Editor:
The concern I have for GMO foods is exactly the same as EMFs from Smart Meters. It’s about control.
You notice that B.C. Hydro and FortisBC can’t resist comparing their smart meters to our personal electronic devices.
There are many things I can do to reduce EMFs from all the electronic devices I use.
However I am in control of my personal devices and have no control over wireless technology delivered by a utility both to my home and to all other homes in my vicinity.
A genetically modified apple planted in Summerland can potentially infect my orchard through pollen transfer by bees that are transported up and down the Valley by beekeepers.
No apple growers, including certified organic growers, are immune from this cross contamination by this one GMO apple orchard.
At the very least, not any orchard in the Okanagan Similkameen valleys will ever be able to claim that their apples are grown GE free, organic or not.
This affects what we grow, what we eat, this impacts our domestic and foreign markets, threatens the very existence of the certified organic industry and alters our reputation as growers of healthy, wholesome, and natural food.
I feel our rights as growers and the rights of consumers have lost the freedom to control our individual destinies.
It is imperative that we reverse this corporate control over such important aspects of our lives.
Allan Patton
Oliver