GMO labeling vote in OR. too close to call

[susan rudnicki]

The millions of dollars spent by Big Ag and Big Pharma in Oregon to defeat the labeling of food with genetically modified ingredients is within 1000 votes of being a tie. Since Ore. is a vote by mail state, each voter is required to sign their ballot and after the election some 13,000 ballots were “contested” for signature “irregularities” The pro-label groups worked feverishly to track down all the contested ballots to affirm the voter’s intent on the initiative, and this means the results are SO close, a re-count is mandated. Here is a good link for the issue
http://www.katu.com/politics/local/Post-Election-Day-push-over-uncounted-ballots-narrows-GMO-vote-gap-283557131.html?tab=video&c=y
Why does this matter on a beekeeping site? The health of our bees is being severely degraded by exposure to the cocktails of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides—in addition to the so-called “inert ingredients” of the formulations—and these chemicals are used in ever increasing quantity on GMO crops DESIGNED to be sprayed and resist the effects of the chemicals. However, weeds and pest insects and diseases are developing resistance to the “partner chemical agents” so that farmers are using more and more chemicals to get the same effect as just a few years ago. New, ever more toxic cocktails of chemicals are being developed, with more GMO selected plants to accompany them, continuing the spiral downward. Dow’s product –Enlist-Duo—just approved by our corrupted Environmental Protection Agency, is the new chemical mix containing 2,4-D, one of the components of the notoriously toxic Agent Orange of the Vietnam era. Significantly, the EPA also approved a new series of seed strains—corn and soy—to accompany this chemical arsenal.
It is not possible to un-hitch the linkages of one thread of life from another, and this issue is particularly nasty and corrupted by monetary interests.

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