A letter to a Senator...

In recent weeks, I have become more and more passionate about food--namely, growing and eating food the way God intended.  I'm not an expert on the subject, but I do feel very strongly that the message should be shared.  Since many countries banned GMOs years ago, I'm really concerned that we, as a society, are being entrenched in some habits that may become very hard to break if the issues are not addressed quickly.

I love that I now see all kinds of products with the "no high fructose corn syrup" labels, even in Handy Andy!  Ketchup, syrup, etc.  And it seems that buying organic has become easier and cheaper in the last few years, as well.  So I know that we can create change quickly if enough people speak loud enough and vote with our dollars.  Every time we shop and buy organic foods, we are telling the stores and the producers what we want. 

It can be very disheartening to hear the responses from friends.  One person said "a tomato is a tomato" and proceeded to call me a "hippie for Christ" (not that I mind being called a hippie, particularly, but still!).  I guess I should have told him to go taste the difference, rather than informing him about the dangers of the foods and telling him how I think God fits into my food decisions.  ;-) 

When I re-posted something about raw milk, Ryan's disgruntled aunt said, "Really, Karen?  Really?"  To which I have to say, yes, really!  It's amazing how the media portrays people who actually do the research--as fear mongers who don't understand that the FDA has said that "there is essentially no difference...blah blah blah."  (this from a US Senator in TX!)  It just tells me that we need to educate people. 

I was telling a friend that, though I have always believed in being self-sufficient, and I have always known that the closer the food is to the way God made it, the better it is, I didn't have a clue about some of the gmo stuff.  Like most people, I guess, I believed that they weren't essentially different.  I had no idea that my food had mutated e-coli in its DNA!  But, now that I do know, our family is committed to doing our best to eat good foods and to educate others.  Imagine what would happen if we all did that?

Just like homeschooling, recycling, etc, eating good foods created out of good farming practices would stop being something "those people" do, and something that we all want to do.  Mainstream, rather than underground. 

So, if you've made it to the end of this post, I thought I'd post a letter I wrote in response to 'that' senator.  Feel free to modify and send to your own legislators. 

Dear Senator ____________,

GM foods ARE significantly and dangerously different than organic foods.  This is why they have been banned in other countries around the world.  Genetically modified foods are created by injecting the DNA of the food with DNA from e-coli bacteria and viruses.  Organically grown foods do not have e-coli bacteria and virus DNA embedded in them.   In addition, research shows that GM foods are NOT safe.  (Another article here) GM foods have been linked to severe allergies, obesity, cancer, and other diseases.  GM foods have been proven to be less nutritious and more allergenic than 'regular' foods. 

Despite continued research to show that these foods are not safe, the consumer is denied the ability to make educated choices about the foods they eat because companies like Monsanto have employees in the FDA and EPA advocating for them and feeding the public and our elected officials false information.  Not only that, but they are putting small farmers who utilize good farming practices out of business through the unethical patenting of life and through monopolizing the food industry. 

I urge you to view documentaries like Food, Inc and The Future of Food.  Eliminating these foods from the marketplace will preserve the livelihoods of small farmers and make all Americans healthier.

You can watch Food, Inc for free on Netflix.    You can watch The Future of Food here. 

Thank you for your service to your constituents,