**WHY GMO's ARE BAD NEWS**

It's about the current state of affairs regarding Genetically Modified
Organisms, their development and regulatory approval, and how we are
made intrinsically......... We are all born with a selfish streak.

1.  In spite of our fallibility and mistakes, we overestimate how smart
    we are. Because of our accomplishments, we believe that our
    intellect and reasoning ability will eventually solve all the
    worlds' problems and make this place a paradise.

2.  We bristle when our wills and agendas are limited in any way, at any
    time and often possess a sense of entitlement.

> 3\. When called to sacrifice for others we often become indignant.

4.  We think that the next incremental gain of money or power will
    finally satisfy us. The more wealth and power we have the more we
    tend to lord it over others instead of serving them.

5.  We can get attached to transitory material things and can be bought.

6.  When something is benefiting us we do not like to entertain the
    notion that it could be unjust or against the common good. When is
    the last time you saw proponents of GMO's lead the charge in
    discussing the subject with opponents on national TV or any other
    forum for that matter?

7.  We are attracted to expediency and are masters at rationalization
    and self-justification.

8.  Those of us in government when called to do the right thing, take
    leadership, establish right order, and the ascendancy of the common
    good often succumb to laziness or fear.

9.  Our bodies, the human cell, our immune system are extremely complex
    and will never be completely understood. The effects of our dietary
    patterns stay hidden for years.

We have been tinkering with our food for over 50 years for efficiency
and marketing sake. Goods like food wholesomeness, the environment,
animal welfare, widespread ownership of property aren't talked about
much. We now have mad cow disease, autism coming out of nowhere, super
bugs in hospitals and food, trans fats causing heart disease, and cancer
cases set to double in 20 years (KMPH news Fresno 12-16-08) to name a
few.

The public agencies in charge of protecting us (FDA, SEC you name it)
have morphed into fox guarding the hen house travesties, with moneyed
interests stacking the deck for themselves.

**SUGGESTIONS FOR FARMERS AND FARM ORGANIZATIONS:**

A.  Support a moratorium on GMO's we can get new varieties from our
    universities without gene insertion or silencing.

B.  Quit standing behind the FDA, like it is just and thorough. This is
    dishonest. Thinking about our upcoming appointment with the real
    owner who is infinite truth should make doing this easy.

C.  Support anti-trust enforcement against the major corporations the
    buy our commodities and supply our inputs.

D.  Support reform that gets the corrupting influence of these companies
    and their money out of our government and academia to protect the
    public.

E.  Give activists more eloquent than me like Mark Kastel Cornucopia
    Institute, Jeffery Smith Institute for Responsible Technology, Dr.
    Arpad Pusztai or any one else speaking the truth the time of day.

John Coelho

**Terra Linda Farms**