The state of Maine recently became the second state to require labeling of genetically modified food ingredients on products that are sold in grocery stores.

Changes are going on now in our government agencies that are increasing the threat to our health.

The latest draft regulations proposed and open for comment until Feb. 20 in regard to our food that the USDA may approve allows increasing use of genetically engineered Roundup Ready products using glyphosate.

Millions of pounds of the chemical is used annually and we don’t even know it. This material that is used by Dow and Monsanto among others leads to increasing health problems including contributing to Alzheimer's among other diseases as well as leaky gut syndrome which does not allow us to get the full nutritional value from our food.

We need to urge the USDA to stop rubber stamping what the chemical companies are asking them to approve with likely donations and compensation. The agency often defers to the EPA but they have similar views.

Twenty six states have proposals to stop these products in our food supply. We need to continue to make an effort to keep our food safe.

The genetically altered products are not grown to save water, improve taste, nutrition or to increase yield but only to resist herbicides. This leads to less biological diversity because many more pounds of toxic chemical can then be used without “killing” the target plant.

When a field is sprayed, there are some plants or weeds that don’t get completely saturated and new forms have to be used to combat pests.

The latest development pushed by the corporations are resistant to ever-increasing levels on corn, wheat and cotton and are called “Enlist” and is engineered to resist the effects of 2,4,D-the same chemical used on the fields of Vietnam to wipe out the plants there.

The herbicide itself is toxic to the liver in small doses, is associated with higher risk of Lou Gehrig’s disease, malformed sperm and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The ingredient glyphosate is currently not approved for use on lawns and gardens in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Kuwait and the Canadian provinces of Québec and Ontario.

Meanwhile, the USDA acknowledges that allowing these crops on the market will likely more than triple use of 2,4-D in the U.S. – an increase of tens of millions of pounds per year.

On average, soy products that are genetically altered carry many times the load of these chemicals-up to 40 times more-than previously used.

I urge anyone who cares about these developments to contact the local office of the USDA and express your concern. The state executive officer is Val Dolcini and his email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Ellen Karnowski lives in Kelseyville, Calif.