Film Event: "Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of Our Lives"

Label GMOs Napa County will present the award-winning documentary film, “Genetic Roulette—The Gamble of our Lives,” about the health risks of genetically engineered food at the Napa Valley Opera House in Downtown Napa on Tuesday, August 6th at 7 PM. There will be a wine reception before the film and a Q and A session following the film.

Label GMOs Napa County will present the award-winning documentary film, “Genetic Roulette—The Gamble of our Lives,” at the Napa Valley Opera House, 1030 Main Street in Downtown Napa, on Tuesday, August 6th at 7:00 PM followed by a panel discussion beginning at 8:30 PM. A wine reception will preceed the film at 6:30 PM with wines donated by Crazy Flower Wines and Girls in the Vineyard available for purchase. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased in advance from the Napa Valley Opera House or at the door. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Label GMOs Napa County, an all-volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to infoming the local community about the risks of genetically engineered (GE) food and the importance of GE food labeling in California and the broader United States. The group has recently begun petitioning local city and county officials to pass a non-binding resolution calling on the state and federal government to mandate the labeling of GE foods.

“Genetic Roulette” draws a connection between the introduction of genetically engineered foods in the United States over the past two decades and rising disease rates within the U.S. population, especially amongst children, during the same time period. Interviews with scientists, doctors, and farmers further draw the link between the consumption of GE corn and soy by lab animals, humans, and livestock to a host of health issues, including allergies, gastrointestinal problems, infertility, cancer, liver and kidney damage, premature death, and more. The film also reveals the manner in which the FDA allowed these foods onto the market without safety testing or labeling, over the objections of its own scientists, and the tactics used by corporations that produce GE seeds, such as Monsanto, to keep it that way.

After the film, there will be a Q and A session with an expert panel which will include the following: Dr. Ignacio Chapela, UC Berkeley scientist who was attacked by the biotech industry for publishing his discovery that GE corn was growing in Mexico despite a ban on its planting there; Pamm Larry, former midwife and farmer who founded Labelgmos.org and initiated Proposition 37, the 2012 ballot initiative that aimed to require the labeling of GE food in California; Paige Tomaselli, Senior Attorney for the Center for Food Safety, which has filed multiple lawsuits against the FDA and USDA for their failure to regulate GE foods and crops and has halted several illegal plantings of GE crops and plants through its legal actions.

“We are so grateful and excited to have these three individuals together in one room to answer our questions following the film. They each bring a unique set of experiences and knowledge base with respect to this important issue,” remarked Erica (“Amy”) Martenson, Coordinator for Label GMOs Napa County. “Our intent is to raise awareness regarding the health risks of genetically engineered food and to arm individuals with information about how to avoid it, so they can protect their health and the health of their loved ones.”

“I'm excited to be able to connect with people in Napa about GMOs [genetically modified organisms] and our food supply, because it's these kinds of events that are silently and profoundly changing the world,” stated Pamm Larry.

For more information about the film and to purchase tickets, please go to the Napa Valley Opera House website at http://nvoh.org/ or call 707-226-7372. For more information regarding Label GMOs Napa County, including information regarding the petition, please follow the group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/labelgmosnapa/.