FOOD for THOUGHT: Politics of Food Part I

(Dietary changes should be discussed with a health care provider.)

(Legislative changes should be discussed with the people.)

I take a break from my regularly scheduled writing to ask a favor that will hopefully benefit you AND me AND many who don’t realize that they need the favor -- including the next generation.  It is not wholly unrelated to our journey toward good health through healthy food.  After all, how can we eat well if we cannot be sure of what we are eating.  For the record I am an independent and tend toward the middle of the road – I have been known to veer down side paths both to the left and to the right.

If you have any friends or family in CA with whom you want to catch up or need an excuse to whom to talk, if you have former co-workers there or are headed there on a business trip, if you have face-book friends or tweet followers in the opposite corner of the country, PLEASE ask them to VOTE FOR the LABELING of GMOs.

This is NOT a question of whether they are or are not safe; this is NOT a question of whether they should or should not be allowed, this is a question of whether we should or should not be able to MAKE THAT CHOICE FOR OURSELVES, and whether GMO use should be allowed to be hidden (inside our bodies) while the former discussion takes place.

The way I see it, labeling restricts no one’s freedom – anyone is still free to purchase and support the labeled food – but not labeling restricts those who wish to avoid GMOs by leaving them only a tiny supply pool from whom to purchase a basic necessity.  Also, a lack of labeling requirement on either side leaves a nebulous grey area where neither side can be sure for whom they are wallet-voting.

Why CA?  What do they have to do with MA, and why not vote on the issue when this is being decided for New England?  To answer the first question first, there are two reasons why CA.  First, they are big & populous, and that allows them to be trendsetters.  Once a company is doing something for CA it may be easier to just make that “something” the norm rather than the exception.  Second, CA is making this issue a ballot issue and putting it to the people, not making it a legislative vote among a much smaller more lobby-able group.  As far as the rest of the question, this issue has already come up in New England at least twice.  In one state the decision in favor of GMO labeling was reversed after threats were made of a lawsuit that would bankrupt local government and disrupt the state’s ability to protect it’s people in other necessary areas.  In another state lobbyists spent a lot of money to decide the vote beforehand to avoid publicity after the fact.

We can’t answer all of these million dollar (make that multi-trillion dollar) questions now, but you can call a lifeline to stay in the game.  Call a voter in CA today.

CHALLENGE #12 of 50:

Please just say no to GMOs without labels (i.e. friends ask friends to say yes to CA prop 37).

QUOTE of the WEEK:

Unanswered questions are far less dangerous than unquestioned answers.

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