PALMDALE – Hundreds of health conscious residents will converge on Marie Kerr Park in Palmdale this Saturday to raise community awareness about the dangers of genetically modified foods.
“We want people to be aware of what’s happening to their food source, we want them to be aware of what they’re eating, and we want them to inspire change in local and big businesses,” said event organizer Kristin Boughton Estevane.
Most wheat, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States have been genetically modified, and an estimated 70 percent of processed foods in the US now contain genetically engineered ingredients.
While the federal government claims the technology is safe, critics warn that genetically-modified organisms (GMO) in food can lead to serious health conditions, such as the development of cancer tumors, infertility and birth defects. For more information on GMO’s and the alleged health risks, visit www.responsibletechnology.org.
An estimated 300 local residents have joined the non-GMO movement, forming a grassroots community action group dubbed “Project Awareness.”
Project Awareness is calling on all local grocers to label products that contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients, or to move away from carrying GM foods and products altogether.
Residents can help support the cause by sending a letter to their favorite local grocery store requesting that the store transitions to non-GM products, Boughton Estevane said. Project Awareness has drafted a letter for supporters to distribute to local grocery stores.
A portion of the letter reads:
“No human health or adequate safety testing has been done on these genetically altered foods and it is unclear if these GM foods are causing the increase in disorders such as allergies, asthma, autism, heart disease or cancer. In fact, in May 2009, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine released a policy paper urging all doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets for everyone, stating that animal studies show that GM food is linked to infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, organ damage and gastrointestinal problems…
Considering the growing awareness and questionable health effects of these GM foods, I am asking you to label all products in your store that contain GM ingredients, including meats from Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). In fact, it is in your best interest to move away from carrying products with GM ingredients as more and more consumers become aware of the dangers of these foods. By eliminating GM foods, you will gain the respect and trust of the community and families who make healthy eating a priority for their family.”
Letters to distribute to local grocery stores will be available at Saturday’s rally to raise community awareness about the dangers of genetically modified foods.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, June 22, at Marie Kerr Park, located at 39700 30th Street West in Palmdale.
From 10 to 10:30 a.m., Project Awareness members will discuss nutrition and the health risks associated with genetically modified foods, Boughton Estevane said.
Following the discussion, the expected crowd of about 300 will fan out along Rancho Vista Boulevard, from Marie Kerr Park to the Antelope Valley Mall, with signs and pamphlets aimed at raising community awareness for the cause, Boughton Estevane said.
The event will culminate with a potluck, featuring non-GMO dishes, Boughton Estevane said.
“If you want to know what’s in your food and a good way to extend your lifespan, you should come out,” Boughton Estevane said. “Not only for it being a community event, and you being a part of the community, but also for your awareness and for your health.”
The event is a family-friendly event and children are welcome, Boughton Estevane added.
For more information on Project Awareness and Saturday’s rally, visit the group’s facebook page at Project Awareness- Antelope Valley- MAM Continues.
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NRA says
One of the protesters holding sign blaming CAPITALISM, ha ha ha, what a “smart person” ! Capitalism is the very thing that made our country the best country in the world! Whoever doesn’t like capitalism should go to N Korea or Cuba to see how things are going there, one should not forget to bring some food, might get hungry over there! ))
nadia says
Ignorance is bliss here in the Antelope Valley. Just take a look around and see all the fat and sick people. So many on wheelchairs, using walkers and they can’t bend down. Big corporations want to thin the population by having us ingest poison in our food…
Children should not be overweight, but they are and will die young as a result.
Those making fun or saying dumb remarks about hippies, etc., are totally wrong because the hippies were right.
NRA says
That’s right, let’s blame corporations! But how about start taking care of yourself? Stop eating fatty foods, huge hamburgers, french fries? How about some exercise? And hippies are drug addicts, how they can be right??
Mr. Mister says
Ummm the corporations are the ones doing the genetic engineering. So yes, let’s blame them, or the FDA for allowing it. But then again, the corporations probably bought off the FDA so therefore yes, blame the corporations says this hippie (not drug addict).
CaliGirl says
Pigs fed a GMO diet, become obese, go figure, even our food is fed GMO’s, check out what Mr Bill Gates is up to these days, nothing he is involved in is good for the general public, this man really believes in depopulation.
Jason says
So how did pigs become obese before GMOs?
CaliGirl says
They weren’t and if you are not going to even bother to look it up, I am not going to respond!
Jason says
Pigs have always been fat creatures. You might want to look it up yourself. I havent been able to find one article that shows pigs are now obese because of GMO. However there are articles that talk about the damage done to their stomachs.
CaliGirl says
http://www.cornucopia.org/2012/07/obesity-corn-gmos/
Genetically Modified Crops
The four most important genetically modified crops are corn, soy, cotton and canola. These four crops are ingredients in most of the processed foods sold in the U.S. Estimates are that 75% of processed foods have genetically modified ingredients. And, 80% of the food eaten in the U.S. is processed food. Recent research has shown that rats, dogs and pigs fed GMO grains have gained significantly more weight than animals fed non-GMO feed. 2 The Center for Disease Control and Prevention weight gain data illustrates that our obesity-overweight epidemic accelerated dramatically after GMO foods were introduced in the early 1990s. The new finding that GMO foods caused weight gains in test animals is especially alarming, and indicates that increased consumption of such foods is probably a significant factor in our recent dramatic increase in obesity. Since there are no labeling requirements to inform customers that products have genetically manipulated additives, consumers have no ability to choose whether to buy them or not.
Jason says
All that article says is they got fatter faster, not that they got more fat than pigs that were fed non GMO.
CaliGirl says
http://youtu.be/40RWPeaPZpU
http://youtu.be/h0zD1gj0pXk
http://www.the-age-of-woman.com/Wheat-GMO.html
I don’t know where the article is about the pigs, I read it but I am not finding it easily but here are others.
CaliGirl says
Fat does not make you fat, eating GMO foods that your body does not recognize and does not know how to break down do. Lowfat anything is a chemical (turd) storm, now they even want to add aspartame to milk, if you are going to blame sugar next, 1/2 of the sugar in the USA is GMO sugar beet and actually almost everything is sweetened nowadays with GMO corn syrup, if you are lucky enough to find something sweetened with sugar it is surely processed. This crap they are spraying in the air day in and day out also contains Barium (among other toxic sludge) which attacks the thyroid. Thyroid problems are one of the leading health issues these days that go undiagnosed, trust me, America has become fat and lazy by no accident, that is the plan. Why do you think raw milk is so strictly regulated? Because raw milk is one of the healthiest substances you can drink and it ends tooth decay. Fluoride is TOXIC as well, it is toxic waste that they once had to pay to get rid of. They don’t want you to live long enough to draw retirement and they want every last penny you have on your way out trying to kill the cancer that causes you so much pain, you will do pay anything to make go away!
Robyn says
Was reading some of the comments posted to the article and it just really amazes me how controversial this topic is. I don’t quite understand the negativity. I mean IF we are really eating poison and stuff that causes a wide variety of serious health issues, don’t you want to find out more??? Why wouldn’t you? Guess you would rather live in oblivion and criticize, Ok have fun with that..to each their own…but have you ever wondered why in the last 20 years obesity in America has risen so much, as well as diabetes and many other autoimmune diseases? What if, just what IF it IS in our food supply???
AVGIrl says
I think the increase in obesity has more to do with popular culture. When I was a kid, there wasn’t any such thing as “supersize”. Not to mention, most kids don’t even bother to go outside anymore. They sit at home and play games. Then look at all the processed foods available. All pretty bad for you.
Robyn says
Thanks for your reply, and from refraining from insults and name calling,unlike other comments on this article, which shows ignorance more than wit. Yes, of course those issues affect obesity! That is a given, but look at the ingredients in processed foods. High fructose corn syrup and soy especially are in many. 90 percent of corn and soy is GMO. I also come from a generation where not so many were overweight and where autoimmune disease was mostly unheard of. Why such controversy over people feeling they have the right to know if the food they are eating is genetically modified and if it might be harmful? It’s about awareness and educating ourselves, what can be wrong with that?
John Howard says
Last year it was walmart, then it was the 99% and now it’s GMO.. same hippies protesting [insert cause here].. nothing new to see here..
How about you protest stuff we can change like valley fever and dust storms.
And let’s be honest here people.. a rally on the BLVD on a Saturday morning.. who showed up?
Really ask William no one is on the BLVD at that time of day.. You should have protested between 6 and 9 PM if you wanted any public exposure.
AV Times didn’t even show up to cover this event and they live near the BLVD.
Well maybe this event will be better.. good luck getting on the private property of the AV Mall and protesting.. I look forward to seeing arrests made.. Best part 100% of EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF COTTON being worn by the protestors and sold in the AV Mall is GMO.. good luck with that.
lil says
Drugs you can chose weather or not you put them in your body. By not labeling GMOs they are faking away are right to live healthy…. how can we if we don’t know.. then we can’t make they choice foe ourselves. That violates our human rights period. Some people also just simply don’t know! These people are trying to simply do something good and spread awareness. You can sign online petitions times over in the privacy of your own home. No one is telling you what to be passionate about. That’s your choice. Having the right to at least know if youre putting something unhealthy into your body is something worth fitting for. Especially when you take into consideration the fact that the health epidemics Ie heart disease.. diabetes.. childhood obesity etc.. didn’t
multiply until after we introduced processed foods…. in countries that didn’t have processed foods.. cancers
started showing up after we introduced processed foods. Now they are saying we are going to give you GMOs and you’ll have no right to know…….. bull crap! So corps with thier handsthe government
sammy P says
I am sure its a valid issue – But many of us have a limit on the causes we can stand for and protest against and donate to – because many of us work hard to live in a crummy 1 bedroom apartment in a crime ridden flea bag neighborhood and are struggling to deal with issues that directly affect us a tad more than this one does.
Please let me know when you decide to raise awareness to the fact that drugs and alcohol are destroying our society and costing the taxpayers millions of dollars a year for the problems they cause. Then I will be out there with you holding a cardboard sign.
One more thing- there are 7.093 billion people on this planet right now and the U.N. projects the global population is expected to reach between 8.3 and 10.9 billion by 2050, and its just going to get worse. The ability to genetically modify food so that it grows faster and bigger is something that will become even more crucial if we plan to feed all the people we will have in the future. ya know, since the right to have as many babies as you want to seems to be an inalienable right. So they better come up with ways to make more food and grow it faster if they want to keep up with population growth.
ben says
Super Like.
CaliGirl says
The problem is genetically crops are actually yielding less product while destroying the land they grow on and cross contamination seems to be a big issue as well. Third world countries have banned then and yet, here we are. If you want the truth about things like this, you might have to look at the studies done outside the USA, all kinds of stuff here in the USA is actually killing us and the cancer rate is said to be on the verge of explosion due to things like GMO’s, cell phones, smart meters and all kind of unnecessary crap we are exposed to but are unaware of the health dangers ourselves, but don’t think for one second the people pushing them on us don’t know, they know, they know full well what they are doing!
mick says
Genetically modified food will kill you. This is not paranoia talking. I was diagnosed with celiac disease and my doctor told me it was directly related to the food I was eating.
ben says
“Tthe condition is thought to affect between 1 in 1,750 and 1 in 105 people in the United States”…And you just so happen to comment on this subject and live in the AV? GM food will not hurt you. You’ve been eating it for years… Get over it.
ben says
Source Rewers, Marian J. (2005). “Epidemiology of Celiac Disease: What Are the Prevalence, Incidence, and Progression of Celiac Disease?”. Gastroenterology (National Institute of Health) 128 (4 Suppl 1): S47–51. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2005.02.030. PMID 15825126. More than one of |work= and |journal= specified
Thomas says
Some think for themselves and others let the FDA think for them. If GMO foods are so safe why is autism among newborns so high?
Gdubbau says
First it was supposedly vaccines, which turned out to be a fraud that lots of people fell for, now there’s BS circulating that it’s GMOs, or did you just make that up?
mick says
Then how come since I’ve cut GM food from my diet, most of the symptoms of my celiac are gone??
Just curious ... says
How do you know that you’ve cut GM food from your diet if it’s not labeled?