Governor Won't
Enforce Law

In 2004 the Vermont Legislature passed the GMO (genetically modified organism) Seed Labeling Law, yet the Douglas administration has not been enforcing this law. Consequently Monsanto and other agrichemical corporations are being allowed to sell their GMO seeds without being required to label them.

Scudder Parker has said that, if elected governor, his administration will enforce the GMO Seed Labeling law.

This issue is important because Vermont agriculture is in danger of being irreversibly changed by GMO seeds which have not been adequately tested or regulated, apparently due to the power and influence of the giant agrichemical corporations.

There is much that is not known about the long-term effects of the use of these laboratory-manipulated seeds. I believe that these agrichemical corporations are being allowed to conduct a giant experiment on our food supply and our cropland.

However, we do know that crops grown from these GMO seeds can irreversibly contaminate nearby crops, including organic crops, from their pollen being carried by the wind.

Governor Douglas also vetoed the Farmer Protection bill passed by the legislature last session. That bill would have placed the liability for GMO contamination on the seed manufacturers, and would protect all Vermont farmers.

Monsanto and other chemical companies are about to introduce GMO seeds for additional kinds of crops into Vermont. We need a governor who will promote full investigation of the risks of GMO crops before they are allowed to be further introduced here.

For these reasons I encourage voters to cast their votes for Scudder Parker for governor.

Nancy Rice

Randolph Center