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Farm Bureau urges 'no' vote on Prop 105

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Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014 10:38 PM

From the La Plata County Farm Bureau

Colorado's statewide ballot will include Proposition 105. If passed, Proposition 105 will require Colorado foods made with genetically engineered ingredients to have a "Produced With Genetic Engineering" label on it. The proposition doesn't do what it claims, and deserves a NO vote.

Voting no on Proposition 105 doesn't mean you don't care about what is in your food, it means you care about Colorado's economy and call for a consistent proposition to be passed.

The proposition exempts two-thirds of the food in grocery stores which is misleading for consumers; Coloradans won't be able to trust these labels with its inconsistencies. While your cereal package may have a label on it, your carton of eggs (among several other exempt foods) won't have this label even if it was made with genetically engineered products.

Not only are there inconsistencies in the way the proposition is written, it will increase food production costs for Colorado farmers and ranchers which will raise the cost of groceries by several hundred dollars per family each year.

If passed, the Proposition will require a label for all foods made or sold in Colorado putting Colorado at a huge disadvantage. Farmers and food producers in Colorado and across the countRy would need to separate, repackage and re-label their products just for Colorado.

This proposition will create more bureaucracies which will result in higher taxes; there is no funding in place or funding limit for Proposition 105.

The proponents of Proposition 105 claim this proposition will inform us of what's in our foods, but with the national labeling system already in place, we do know and have the choice to buy USDA Certified Organic or foods with the non-GMO label.

The discussion surrounding Proposition 105 shouldn't be about whether GMOs are good or bad, the discussion needs to be about how Proposition 105 is misleading and doesn't do what it claims. Proposition 105 will hurt all Coloradans and will greatly impact Colorado's second largest industry - Agriculture. Gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez and Gov. Hickenlooper both oppose Proposition 105.

Vote No on 105.

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