Mom and Dad Agree: We Should Know About GMOs

My parents have embraced change their entire lives. They were two young healthcare workers who fell in love, eloped, and faced the unknown of migrating from Manila to New Jersey in the 60's, learned how to disco and perm their hair in the 70's, bought a microwave in the 80's, adjusted from typewriters to word processing in the 90's, and (at least, for my mom) hopped on the Facebook wagon in the 2000's.

They've never stopped adapting, even as they carry a sense of the past. What this means is, no matter how fascinated they may become with the latest technologies or innovations, they don't think change always equals "progress" or better. Like, say, global climate change. Or GMOs.

Having spent decades working in hospitals, clinics, and rural areas with tens of thousands of sick and unwell people, so much of their lens on the world is framed around health. They wouldn't call themselves "political," but they do have opinions on matters that affect health and future generations.

California is set to vote on GMO labeling, so I sent them a few articles and asked for their take on the labeling of genetically modified foods:

Aileen-y,

Enjoyed reading the article. Make sure you bring us a copy of Hyphen when you visit! Its sad and unfair to know there are thousands of farmers in India who committed and are committing suicide after the introduction of gmos.

As a nurse, I feel everyone should know what they are putting in their bodies. Growing up in the provinces of Mangaldan and San Fabian, we consumed organic veggies, fresh from our garden or from the market. In the patalan, we ate from the fishponds and fish is harvested from the river, and fowl and chicken were cooked and served right after being caught.

I remember how we used to prepare rice from the palay by using the old fashion way of grinding it. My Lolo Roman had many cashews, langka, durian, guavas, mabol etc and a modest coconut plantation. Our means of livelihood was the mango plantation (which we still have in Mangaldan presently). I did not have an inkling of GMOs in our diet!

Love,
Mom

Will write more when I open the computer. Am texting on my cellphone. Well, when we do research in medicine, even antibiotics were tried out on animals before being tried out on humans. If something could cause cancer in rats, it could cause cancer in humans. There should be better research to be sure its really safe or not.

Love,
Dad

And that's what they said. Our mom is a little more loquacious, and dad is a man of fewer words, but they are refreshingly in agreement. While our Lolo Jose, a farmer-turned-pilot, is not with us any longer, I'd like to think that he would also be in support of real food.