Dear Editor,

Mr. Martin makes rather random assertions regarding thalidomide and genetically modified foods [Stop genetic modifications, Feb. 12 Letters, Langley Advance].

His concerns about thalidomide have validity, but he is behind the times, as it has been re-approved in some parts of the world, for its original purpose.

As to GM foods, this is nothing new: potatoes in South America are multi-coloured, carrots originally were purple, tomatoes had taste, livestock have additives in their feed. The continuing effort to improve crops and live food products is ongoing. As population surges, food stocks need replenishing. It is the chain of life in the 21st century and will continue far into the future.

I am a little confused as to how fish eggs from Canada, shipped to Panama for growth, harvested for the United States, impacts the whole of Canada and the rest of the world. It appears that Mr. Martin wants to deny food to the needy, and chance the depletion fishing of Atlantic salmon.

Terry Brenan, Aldergrove