The Smorgasbord

Over the past couple of years I've tried to take a more active role in my health and learning about nutrition. I've started buying organic, I've cut out meat, I've cut out most dairy. I've started working out more and listened to my body. These are all personal decisions for me, a choice that I've made, I don't force them on anyone, or at least I try not to because everyone is entitled to make their own decisions. It's important to have that choice, which is why this article from the Huffington Post is so upsetting.

I want the choice to choose organic, I don't want to have to worry if my choice is being inadvertently contaminated by a genetically engineered organism. I think that not having to label a product as genetically engineered is taking away an important piece of information in the food buying process. It will be interesting to see where this piece of legislation goes, and I'm going to try to follow it all a bit more closely. So, as a fair warning, there may be a rant or two or call for action on here from time to time, interspersed with my usual silly stories of course. So if it's something that you might feel a little passionately about, shoot off a letter, send an email. Make your voice heard, I sure did. (Letter below) :)
But if not, that's 100% your choice too, which is one of the things that makes our nation so great.

Mr.President,

I am incredibly disappointed in the decision to allow GE alfalfa to grow unchecked and unregulated and not require it to carry a label. As a strict non-GMO consumer and organic advocate, the damage this does to any progress that has been made in regards to organic and non-GMO products is simply unspeakable.

I choose to pay an additional amount at the grocery store to know that my food is coming from sustainable sources, to know that it hasn't been contaminated by chemicals, pesticides, and GMO's, to give me a peace of mind that what I'm putting into my body is the best that it can be. The fact that this choice is slowly being taken away as an option is heartbreaking.

A major reason I voted for you, Mr. President, back in 2008 was because your stance against special interest groups and lobbying. Major biotech companies and Monsanto are virtual powerhouses of lobbying and if left unchecked, will continue to deride and wreak destruction on our food sources.

Their funding is limitless, even with the strong support for organic farming, how can the people stand up to someone who sets aside billions of dollars to pay for legal fees to use for their own special interests? (AKA making more and more money) If the government won't stand up for us, then who will?

It is depressing to know what power two companies can hold over so many agricultural decisions. It seems that the voice of the people no longer counts for anything, this is just one more injustice in a long line of them that have slowly been chipping away and eroding the very values that our country was founded on.

I hope that in the coming months when the law is challenged and the overwhelming evidence begins to pour in that someone will step in and be a champion to the cause. For the food supply is nothing we should be taking lightly. Americans deserve the right to know where their food is coming from, what type of seeds it's grown from, and most importantly to know that their government is fighting for the good of the majority and not just listening to the lip-service of the lobbyists.

I know that I will be encouraging others to take the same stance as myself in voting for a choice both in the grocery stores and at the polls in 2012. The question is, who in government will be standing for that cause as well.