Photo by Alexis Baden-Meyer: Flickr
Family farming-friendly and pro-organic public interest group, the Cornucopia Institute is urging concerned citizens to speak out against a petition received by the USDA from industrial agriculture giant Monsanto, requesting that its genetically engineered soybean be deregulated. According to the Federal Register, the engineered soybean, which carries the designation MON 87769, “has been genetically engineered to produce stearidonic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid not found in conventional soybean.”
The Cornucopia Institute, particularly concerned about the increasing number of GMO deregulations being passed, is asking that people who care about the environment and the importance of organic food submit their comments to the government, urging them not to deregulate the MON 87769 soybean.
They point out that while an omega-3-enriched soybean may sound beneficial to public health, nutrition is not just the simple science of pumping food full of a single nutrient. It requires balance: “Monsanto’s stearidonic acid soybeans is another band-aid solution that will do little to address the root of the problem with our nation’s ‘nutrition’ problem,” Charlotte Vallaeys, Cornucopia’s Director of Farm and Food Policy, explained in a newsletter. To really improve the country’s nutrition, explained Vallaeys, it’s important to shift eating habits from corn and soybean-laden processed foods to a varied diet of wholesome foods rich in natural nutrients.
The institute also previously sent out a call to arms asking family farmers and concerned individuals also submit comments on a similar petition, this one from Dow AgroScience asking that it’s herbicide-resistant genetically engineered corn be deregulated.
