Other: Ron Paul's stance on GMOs and limiting FDA power

[nratexan]

I have been researching this topic for days and can't seem to find an answer.

I am against GMOs and the corruption in the FDA is depressing.

I can't vote for somebody or recommend him to others if he supports GMOs and is getting campaign contributions from companies such as Monsanto.

Does anybody have any information that would help me out?

Thank you very much!

 

[Feeding the Abscess]

He supports raw milk and is against the FDA. Someone else will be able to find links, I'm sure.

 

[dannno]

Ron Paul wants to abolish the FDA so that companies like Monstanto cannot control the food and drug industries.

As far as GMO's go, that is a tricky issue. I stay away from GMO foods in our current system, but if we had a free market system then I might consider eating them under certain circumstances.

I think it is inevitable that there will be GMO crops, but the problem is that they can damage surrounding crops. I should have every right to take a seed from nature and plant it, but as soon as I alter the seed in a way that could damage other people's crops or their seedstock then there may be some issues.

The free market might require GMO crops to be grown in controlled, air-filtered environments.

 

[dannno]

bump

 

[nratexan]

Thank you guys so much. It is just amazing how hard it is to find out all the candidates positions on some of these things.

Thanks again!

Good reading on GMOs:

http://www.saynotogmos.org/
http://www.relfe.com/GMOs.html
http://www.raw-wisdom.com/50harmful.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97567&page=1

 

[eleganz]

The thing about Food and GMO's is that the food industry/politicians is bought out by major corporations. Ron Paul is for limited government and against the big agencies like FDA, DOE, CIA, IRS, etc...

Ron Paul is also for free market to govern the issues, this means more power in the hands of the people. The absence of these large, ominous agencies will force (in a way) the people to govern their own issues thus creating a safer environment for food, force food companies to label foods properly. This could very well phase out GMO, Trans-fats, growth hormones, synthetic food,etc...

Sad thing is that the board of directors for these agencies are usually big corporation execs and they just play by their own rules. This is where Ron Paul needs to step in and show these guys how a free market will kick their asses.

 

[Zippyjuan]

I guess there would not be any regulations on GMO or reporting on if a certain crop was GMO or not. You would never know if you are consuming GMO or not.

 

[Tom in NYC]

I guess there would not be any regulations on GMO or reporting on if a certain crop was GMO or not. You would never know if you are consuming GMO or not.

As someone who knows only what he's read in The Omnivore's Dilemma, I usually just use Kosher food as an example of non-govermental organizations out there that are trusted to certify that things are something, rather than are not. The consumer would be responsible for certifying that things are not GMO; however, I'd imagine there could be laws and/or litigation against harming another person's crops.

 

[bb_dg]

Remember in a free society where liberty is protected, you are not allowed to disturb the liberty of others. If we have farms right next to each other and your GMO crops can somehow affect mine, then the purpose of the government would be to tell you that you are intruding on my liberty (my private property in this case) and you will probably either have to stop or find a way to grow GMOs without affecting my crops. Same thing as I cannot dump toxic waste into a stream that runs by your property and it ends up contaminating your land.

 

[Captain Shays]

I guess there would not be any regulations on GMO or reporting on if a certain crop was GMO or not. You would never know if you are consuming GMO or not.

This has been one of my most cared about positions since 1999 and with all of my research since discovering Ron Paul in late 1999 I am now convinced that he and the Constitution are right on this issue. It's actually the FDA that is providing the environment for fraud, abuse, corruption and monopoly for multi-national corporations seeking to control the food supply of the entire world. It's corrupt politicians who pass laws that allow them to continue their fraud, abuse and corruption. As for labeling, that too
is a states right issue.

 

[Zippyjuan]

Ron Paul wants to abolish the FDA so that companies like Monstanto cannot control the food and drug industries.

As far as GMO's go, that is a tricky issue. I stay away from GMO foods in our current system, but if we had a free market system then I might consider eating them under certain circumstances.

I think it is inevitable that there will be GMO crops, but the problem is that they can damage surrounding crops. I should have every right to take a seed from nature and plant it, but as soon as I alter the seed in a way that could damage other people's crops or their seedstock then there may be some issues.

The free market might require GMO crops to be grown in controlled, air-filtered environments.

If you want to stay away from GMO foods avoid things made from soy or corn. 93% of the US crop of soy is GMO and 77% of the global crop is. If you are eating tofu or other soy based products, you are almost certainly consuming GMO. Corn hits 86% GMO in the US. Cotton clothes? 90% GMO US- 49% globally. Canola oil? 93% of the US crop. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food

 

[jbuttell]

I feel direct human modification of the genes (not merely cross-breeding) and calling it 'corn' or 'soy' is fraud without notation is fraud.

Its a shame when ingredients labels say "Corn" which could include GMO, but organic products have to be labeled as something 'special'.

 

[FlatIron]

Can anyone please explain to me how the FDA is corrupted or bad? I thought the point of it was to avoid poisonous food entering into the markets.

 

[Zippyjuan]

For some, anything associated with government is bad.

 

[hmochel1992]

The FDA has connections to the large food/biotech companies, which leads to corporatism. It's the "Revolving Door" phenomenon of high-level industry folks taking government positions, where they will be making decisions that affect the industry they were previously in, and the cycle continues between government and big business. The movie Food Inc. touches on that well, there might be a clip somewhere.