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Ryan Hume

We live in Oregon. Some of us live here because it is a beautiful place with a diverse environment. Some of us live here because of jobs and schools. And some of us live here because, well, we have to.

Although we occupy this space for various reasons, each one of us makes up a small piece of what, I would argue, is the most progressive state in this nation. We have an interesting population here in Oregon that is divided roughly down the middle between urban and rural dwellers, as well as liberal and conservative interests, which sometimes can cause some dismay on our ballots.

Even with the inevitable potential for disaster that accompanies our state politics, I would argue ours is one of the best examples of democracy in action in a late age where the voice of the people seems to take a back seat to the desires of big businesses and their henchmen – oh, excuse me, I meant, lobbyists. The voters of Oregon pass laws that make powerful national players shudder at the mere thought of them. George W. Bush is still blowing smoke about medical marijuana. John Ashcroft still wakes up in a cold sweat from nightmares involving assisted suicide. And the Oregon Health Plan still makes some insurance companies sick.

Well, folks, the time is upon us again. The November election is just around the corner, the marketing debates are heating up on television screens all over Oregon and there is some big money that wants to buy your allegiance. Oregon has one of the most liberal ballot initiative policies in the country.

Yes, this is the famous policy that has brought you such eclectic past favorites as the assisted suicide law, as well as Lon Mabon’s biannual hateful attempts at removing all murmurs of homosexuality from public education – of course, what he doesn’t tell you is that he really wants to remove all sex and sexual education from kindergarten to the universities.

So what is on our plate this year, Oregon?

For one, Measure 27, the ballot initiative requiring all genetically modified food from, or in, Oregon to be labeled. The “little label that could” is shaping up to be the hot issue in this upcoming election. So how is it that a little sticker is creating so much controversy? Well, this is due partly to the opposition of this initiative. The Coalition Against the Costly Label Law has broken spending records in its advertising campaign to squash the measure: a modest $6 million. And of course, if the initiative passes here in Oregon, this opens the floodgates for the rest of the nation.

Six million dollars. Wherever you find money in political initiatives, you also find fear. So who is this coalition and what do they have to be afraid of? You might be surprised to hear that the majority of the opposition to this measure, and the money that has been produced to fight it, is not from Oregon.

Croplife International, a Belgium-based lobbying firm that is made up of large, multinational, bio-agricultural corporations is heading the opposition. A lobbying group from Belgium? Why, don’t they have labels on genetically altered food in Belgium? Yes, they do, but it is a global village, my friends, and Croplife International is basically only an acronym for multinational agri-giants: Monsanto, Dow Agrosciences, Dupont, Syngenta and others. And, of course, as if that wasn’t enough, PepsiCo and General Mills – the makers of Hamburger Helper and Wheaties, have both joined the fight against the sticker.

So while many of these companies already have labeling divisions, being that they ship products to Europe, Japan and other countries that have laws requiring the labeling of genetically altered foods, why are they making such a fuss about little old Oregon? Because they are frightened that the American public might not want Frankenfood. It is estimated that 70 percent of products we find in U.S. grocery stores contain at least one genetically altered ingredient. This could be anything from an eggplant to a frosted flake. According to an ABC News poll conducted last year, 90 percent of the American public supports labeling genetically modified food, and if GMOs are as harmless and as technologically superior to organic products as they say, why not pacify the consumer population? If there is nothing wrong with GMOs, then why hide it? I say, flaunt it, Dupont! Be proud of your scientists!

There is no proof that GMOs are harmful, but it was only 50 years ago that people were insulating their houses with asbestos and the government was dropping DDT on school children.

As consumers, we have the right to not be guinea pigs.

There is no proof that genetically altered foods are any different than organically produced foods, but this is not a debate about the differences, this is a debate about choice: the choice as a consumer to consume what you want. It is that simple.

Some people don’t want fish genes spliced into their tomatoes and some people really won’t care, but having the choice to choose what you ingest is more than reasonable, it is rational. So my fellow Oregonians, I ask you to watch your televisions with a skeptical eye as this election approaches and to think about salmon and halibut the next time you are eating a tomato.