There’s a local bumper sticker that says, If you eat, you support agriculture. But do we really know what we’re eating? The crucial issues of agriculture, food and our general health and well being in the Columbia Valley will be discussed on numerous levels in the weeks and months to come.

A group of concerned citizens has recently formed GMO Free Columbia Valley. Their first public event is on Oct 22 at 7:30 p.m. at David Thompson Secondary School in Invermere with the Canadian Premiere of Genetic Roulette. Admission is by donation.

This 85-minute documentary describes how the U.S. government ignored repeated warnings by its own scientists and allowed untested genetically modified (GM) crops into their environment and food supply, taking a gamble of unprecedented proportions. The health of all living things and all future generations was put at risk by an infant technology.

After two decades, physicians and scientists have uncovered a grave trend. The same serious health problems found in lab animals, livestock, and pets that have been fed GM foods are now on the rise in the U.S. population. When people and animals stop eating genetically modified organisms (GMOs), their health improves.

This seminal documentary provides compelling evidence to help explain the deteriorating health of Americans, especially among children, and offers a recipe for protecting our future and us.

Milena Huebener, part of the organizing group in Invermere, says, “It seems to me that the term GMO is becoming familiar to people but the bigger picture of its full impact stays hidden.

“I personally thought GMOs couldn’t be that bad, I am sure they are safe for me to eat, and obviously they will not kill me. Only since I lived in the corn fields of Iowa, witnessing the impact they have on the land, and the people did it become clear how ignorant I was.”

Huebener was involved in the making of the documentary and will share her insights during the discussion that will follow the screening.

She concludes, “Now I know that genetically modified organisms is a subject that everyone should be aware of not only for the matter of protecting the planet but also for the matter of protecting our own family. “

Besides the nascent GMO Free Columbia Valley, another timely initiative is working towards an Agricultural Plan in the East Kootenay region that will focus on the potential for viable, sustainable and diversified agriculture.

The development of the Agricultural Plan is a partnership of the Regional District, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Plan Steering Committee (APSC).  An independent consultant will assist with engaging the agricultural sector, public consultation (coming up in October?) and development of the Agricultural Plan by spring 2013. (https://www.rdek.bc.ca/)

For more information on GMO Free Columbia Valley, please contact: [email protected]

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