As a farmer in Cloud County, Kansas, I am writing to thank Rep. Mike Pompeo for introducing a bill supporting farmers, American agriculture and safe affordable food.
My husband David and I raise alfalfa, wheat, milo, corn and soybeans, and cattle. We’re also the proud parents of three kids, Kendra, Lauren and Wyatt.
Lately, I’ve been frustrated by the attacks against genetically modified crops and those of us who use them. Which is why I want to thank Rep. Pompeo for standing up for us.
For more than a decade, many of our crops have been GMOs. They’re more drought-resistant, give higher yields and require less tilling of the earth—which leads to less soil erosion. Additionally, GMOs allow us to use fewer chemicals and herbicides, saving my family money and helping to protect the environment for my children’s future. GMOs also help support my family’s farming operation, the rural community in which we live and provide food, fuel and fiber to meet a growing world population.
I am a farmer, but I’m also a mom who has three growing kids.
A state-by-state patchwork of GMO labeling could lead to an increase in grocery prices of $400 per family per year. That’s real money in our household.
GMOs are in 80 percent of the foods on your grocery store shelves, and these are the foods I feed my children every day. If they were unsafe, or unhealthy, or if there was something wrong with them, I wouldn’t be feeding them to my children or yours.
Criticizing farmers for growing crops that have tremendous conservation and environmental benefits is irrational. Expecting families to pay more for foods that have repeatedly been proven safe is immoral and wrong.
Stacey Forshee, Delphos, is Kansas Farm Bureau Fifth District Director.