WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stands with Wall Street corporations in her support of their pushing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on Iowa farmers, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) Action Fund Executive Director Hugh Espey told Sputnik.
“She [Clinton] is a corporate Democrat, because she will stand with Wall Street over Main Street on big deal issues [GMOs],” Espey said on Monday. “GMOs are dominated by corporations, and will always be dominated by them. Clinton stands on the side of that and corporations.”
On Monday, liberal Democrats in Iowa called Clinton the “Bride of Frankenfood” over her support of GMOs and the agribusiness company Monsanto.
Espey said that the use of more GMOs in Iowa will lead to higher costs and declining revenues for Iowa farmers, who feel “under the squeeze” to produce as much as possible.
“They [farmers] feel like they are caught,” Espey said. “The style of farming they end up adopting is pushed on them.”
Espey explained that as GMOs dominate more farms in Iowa and throughout the United States, farmers will have to use more machines and chemicals — actions against the wishes of US citizens who are railing against GMOs with concerns over what is actually contained in GMOs and their impact on human health.
“I think if you go and talk to ordinary farmers, they just want to make a living, farm, and pass on their land to the next generation,” Espey said.
Espey said that Clinton’s support of GMOs raises questions about her other priorities including US banks, Trade Promotion Authority, and climate change.
“Iowans will look at this issue [GMOs] like other issues that are important out there,” Espey concluded. “GMOs and agriculture issues are all a part of the mix.”
On Monday, The Iowa Citizen Action Network told Sputnik that Clinton should take a stand against GMOs rather than support them if she is to receive the vote of the US state of Iowa’s progressive Democrats.
Iowa’s Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund is an independent political group focused on citizen-led organizing, according to organization’s website.
