My View: FDA is Cruel Joke on an Unsuspecting American Public the Skinny on Nutrition, Food Facts

In the 2005 legislative session, the first one I had the privilege of watching up close and participating in extensively, I took strong notice of several legislators, some brand new and some highly seasoned, who introduced legislation that took real courage and intelligence.

I strongly supported the bill introduced by state Sen. John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, to begin to label genetically modified foods in New Mexico. Grubesic worked closely with the Sierra Club on this bill, and it was a close vote in the Conservation Committee. Many thanks to Sens. John Pinto, D-Tohatchi, and Carlos Cisneros, D- Questa, for voting to protect the public from the proven dangers of genetically modified “food.”

I certainly encourage Gov. Bill Richardson to include something about genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, in his 2006 call to the Legislature, which starts only a little over six months from now. Plenty of serious work is going on in the interim committees over the summer.

In the context of meaningful breakthroughs in New Mexico consumer protection, Silver City Democrat Sen. Ben Altamirano’s Nutrition Council bill is a truly outstanding inspiration.

It has the potential to phase out junk food and fast food in our state — or at least advising to that effect — starting with the schools, and directly confronting the ridiculous pronouncements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and its corporate-controlled approval processes for drugs, cosmetics and food products.

This bill passed the Senate resoundingly, and the House version passed as well, but they both got hung up in committees after passing, largely due to corporate lobbyists and their tricks.

The federal Food and Drug Administration is a cruel joke on the unsuspecting American public, which naively thinks it is there to protect them.

However, because he sees clearly through the smoke-and-mirrors of the corporations and the FDA, Altamirano shows what leadership should be doing, rather than just passively sitting back and going along with the flow. Altamirano is president pro tem of the Senate.

I was also impressed by Rep. Anna Crook, R-CLovis, who sponsored a punchy and effective resolution to get junk food out of the Legislature itself. Crook’s memorial never got out of committee in the House.

I want to remind readers that now is the right time to let their legislators and governor know what they want to see come out of the 2006 session. If they wait till January to make their views known, they will be many months too late.

Lamy resident Leland Lehrman is director of the KVSF 1400 AM radio show, Mother Media.