Here are three petitions you can sign, from Change.org: one protests Monsanto's stranglehold on the USDA, one protests GMO crops, and the third demands that President Obama protect our right to buy and eat GMO-free foods.
I know that the Center for Food Safety plans to sue to stop the planting of GMO alfalfa (and GMO sugar beets), but have not heard if they have actually filed their suit yet. You can click on the link to their site here for more info. They also have many more petitions to sign.
Adding your name to a petition, as I once said in an earlier post, is a pretty spineless form of activism, but it's better than nothing. If I hear of more direct ways to get involved, I'll post them.
FYI, these petitions have widgets that you can embed on your Facebook page or blog; at the bottom of each one there's a "Get Widget" link for the embed code. Feel free to pass them along.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Buzzkill
Save the bees, via this message from Slow Food:
Bees are dying off around the world - and it's getting serious. Without them, much of the food we eat would disappear, and the impact on the US economy and food prices would be severe.
Scientists are suggesting agricultural pesticides are one of the main culprits, so you can tell the Environmental Protection Agency it's time to solve the mystery of what's killing our buzz (and food chain).
The EPA is under increasing pressure from the pesticide companies to do nothing about it, so please click on the link below to let the EPA know you're concerned about bee populations.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Seriously??!!?
Republicans have discontinued several green programs in the US Capitol. This article in Mother Jones details the rollbacks, including the return of the styrofoam coffee cup.
It's hard to know how to respond to such idiocy.
It's hard to know how to respond to such idiocy.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
And for all you politicos out there...
who don't think GMO food issues are a burning political issue, read this editorial, from today's Christian Science Monitor.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
10 Things You Can Do About GMOs in the Food System
This is a great site I recently discovered, with lots of useful info on a wide spectrum of food issues. Gail Nickel-Kailing, Editor/Co-Publisher of GoodFoodWorld, recently sent out this info in GFW's weekly newsletter:
10 Things You Can Do About GMOs in the Food System
(BTW, #8 on her list should read, "To date, the best way to ensure that you are not consuming GMOs is to buy organic food. The National Organic Program does not allows any GMOs in fresh or processed foods.")
10 Things You Can Do About GMOs in the Food System
(BTW, #8 on her list should read, "To date, the best way to ensure that you are not consuming GMOs is to buy organic food. The National Organic Program does not allows any GMOs in fresh or processed foods.")
Monday, February 21, 2011
Michael Pollan GMO redux
WNYC interviews Michael Pollan on the latest decisions by the USDA to approve GMO alfalfa, sugar beets and a new kind of GMO corn. As always, Pollan manages to lay open the heart of a very complex issue. His point about the lack of independent research on GMO foods is particularly germane, imo.
Check out the interview here, then scroll down the site to "Dish on GMOs." You can stream it from the site or download it to listen to at your leisure. If you're still confused about why GMOs are such a big problem, or you're trying to convince someone who's skeptical about the brouhaha, Pollan's remarks will provide useful talking/argument points. Plus he's the most articulate spokesperson we have.
Check out the interview here, then scroll down the site to "Dish on GMOs." You can stream it from the site or download it to listen to at your leisure. If you're still confused about why GMOs are such a big problem, or you're trying to convince someone who's skeptical about the brouhaha, Pollan's remarks will provide useful talking/argument points. Plus he's the most articulate spokesperson we have.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Cooking for both ends of the life cycle
Last week, I had the unique privilege of making soup for two sets of friends on either end of the life cycle. One couple is celebrating the birth of their first child, and the other couple lost their mother/mother-in-law.
As I was cooking my lentils and chopping my garlic and steaming my carrots and celery, I thought about what it means to feed people at these profound, powerful moments in their lives. I didn't come up with any great pearls of wisdom about it. I'm glad to be able to feed my friends when they need it, either because they are celebrating a new life or mourning the loss of a parent. I suppose, in some small way, the food I made provides them some of the energy they need, whether they're changing a diaper or sitting shiva. And so, in some infinitesimal but nonetheless important way, feeding people at times like these allows me to participate in their moment, to nourish them with my love and support, as well as my lentil soup. And really, when I think about it, that is no small thing.
As I was cooking my lentils and chopping my garlic and steaming my carrots and celery, I thought about what it means to feed people at these profound, powerful moments in their lives. I didn't come up with any great pearls of wisdom about it. I'm glad to be able to feed my friends when they need it, either because they are celebrating a new life or mourning the loss of a parent. I suppose, in some small way, the food I made provides them some of the energy they need, whether they're changing a diaper or sitting shiva. And so, in some infinitesimal but nonetheless important way, feeding people at times like these allows me to participate in their moment, to nourish them with my love and support, as well as my lentil soup. And really, when I think about it, that is no small thing.
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