North Cowichan - To Duncan city council: Although I live in North Cowichan and so am not a resident of the City of Duncan, I was moved by the front page story, "Councillor expresses concerns about city's new GE foods policy" featured in the Friday, March 6 issue of the Citizen.
I didn't realize that Duncan city council had voted with a very, very large majority to limit the use of GMO products in the town. I applaud you for such a progressive and positive move to protect the people, animals and environment of the city! Thank you for your forward-thinking decision to act on such an important issue.To aid you in knowing that the decision regarding the ban on GMOs that you made is most certainly solid, I have attached a letter posted online, that just happened to be brought to my attention this very morning. (Look online at: http://covvha. net/open-letter-from-815-worldscientists-concerning-gmos/#. U5TQTYWp272) It is an open letter (expressing 29 separate points) from 815 scientists from around the world, warning all governments about the dangers and problems that result from the use of genetically modified organisms. I immediately noticed that among the 14 most eminent scientists listed at the beginning of the letter was our own Dr. David Suzuki of the University of British Columbia.I would also suggest checking whether or not Health Canada has indeed done testing to determine that GMO food/crops etc. are actually safe. It is my understanding that no such independent testing has ever been conducted by either Health Canada or their American counterpart, the FDA, although many people automatically assume that it has. At the very least, the majority of the "research" quoted by these agencies is carried out by the GMO industry itself.Again, kudos to the Duncan city council for their leadership!Kerry WeisnerNorth Cowichan