Legislation-palooza

Today when I got on the computer, I was immediately bombarded with news of some bills that made me go, "Cool!"  Now, maybe these bills aren't perfect, but they are all things I personally have been hoping that congress would do something about.

Here is a description of a bill that would protect farmers from the current ramifications of genetically engineered (GE) seed technology.  In short, patents have made it so that certain big corporations (*cough* Monsanto *cough*) have been able to commit what I consider heinous crimes against farmers.  For example, farmers who did not plant Monsanto's GE seeds can get sued for exorbitant amounts if some of that seed ends up in their supply when they save their seed at the end of the season.  (This happens when other farmers in the area have GE crops.  Cross-pollination occurs.)  Small farmers have been going bankrupt as a result.  I've been hoping for legislation to stop this.

Here is a description of a bill that would mandate that GE foods are labelled in stores.  Americans polled have said they'd like to know, and there are also health safety issues when people eat GE foods. For example, if you are allergic to a food, and you eat another food that has been given genes from the food you're allergic to, you might possibly have an allergic reaction to a food you'd normally be OK with.

Next is a bill that would help to prevent plants the have been engineered to produce substances (human or veterinary drugs, biologic, industrial, or research chemicals, or enzymes) from being able to let loose this new DNA into other crops or the wild.

Finally, here is a proposed constitutional amendment that would deny personhood to corporations.

Will any of these things pass? I have no clue. I do expect that they will be lobbied against with full force. They all involve corporations losing power and, consequentially, possibly money. However, what is good for corporations isn't necessarily what's good for the people of the US, and the government is supposed to do what's good and right for the people.

If you are interested in any of these issues, feel free to look up more about them and then maybe consider writing to your representatives in congress.