I am a Northwest native, and have chosen to live in Bellevue and Redmond for the past 55 years. As a young man, I had the opportunity to work on my cousins’ farm in Minnesota and a dairy farm in Redmond in the early 1970s. I feel that farms and farmers are the backbone of America, and that family farms are the true expression of a free market.

I just read about a 75-year-old soybean farmer taking agricultural giant, Monsanto, to the Supreme Court. What this case shows to me is that Monsanto is monopolizing the seeds that farmers use and, with the backing of the U.S. government, is destroying farmers’ freedom to choose from a diverse array of seeds. Monsanto’s goal is to be the sole source for crop seeds, which will damage the free market system in our country and hurt the few family farms that are still around. A few years back, one of Monsanto’s top executives stated that labeling food that had genetically engineered ingredients is like putting a skull and crossbones on the box or container. Kind of self-revealing.

For all these reasons, I support Washington’s Initiative I-522 that would require the labeling of genetically engineered food in our state. I believe it is my right as an American citizen to know what is in the food I purchase. It is my right to know whether the food I buy has been genetically engineered. The giant corporations that are vested in genetically modified food will pour millions of dollars into fighting to keep us in the dark. They will lie to the consumer about the costs of labeling. To date, they have invested millions into genetically modified food and care only about their profits. Many countries throughout the world have labeled or banned genetically engineered food due to health and environmental concerns.

Please stand by me. It is your right to know what you’re buying. It’s your money; it’s your health. Protect our free market system and family farms. Say no to Monsanto and yes to I-522.

Jeffrey Wilson, Redmond