Do you remember lunchtime in elementary school? I do. It was my favorite time of the school day. (I know that's no great shock.) And, if it was rumored that tater tots were in the hot lunch... well, that was a good day, indeed!
I also remember that concentrating during the period before lunch was nearly impossible. I suspect that I failed to retain bits and pieces of knowledge because I was so distracted by impending lunch. (Maybe that's why I'm still terrible at geography?) As an adult, not much has changed in my ability to concentrate with low blood sugar.
And so, I wanted to choose a cause of the month for September that supports nutrition for kids. How can kids focus in school if they haven't had enough to eat? Of course, today being the last day of September, I didn't spend much time doing research. I perused the website for No Kid Hungry, a campaign from Share Our Strength that's focused on ending child hunger in the US. They have several great programs to help feed kids and to improve food circumstances for communities.
After I made a donation, I looked a bit closer and saw that a primary partner for the No Kid Hungry campaign is ConAgra Foods Foundation. The Foundation is the philanthropic arm of ConAgra, a company that makes processed foods and is one of several corporations that put a significant amount of money into fighting Proposition 37--a ballot initiative in California that would require manufacturers to label genetically modified foods.
I don't think GMO products should be in our food, and I support labeling measures. (Consumers should be informed in the grocery store, so they can make choices without hunting for information elsewhere.) But Share Our Strength and the ConAgra Foundation as well as the dedicated people that work with them have done loads of work to help feed hungry children.
This discovery left me in a conundrum--how to talk about this suddenly complicated cause of the month. In the utopian UG world, we'd all be eating delicious, local, and sustainably produced foods prepared and served in a way that retains their nutrients in addition to their calories. Yes, I know. It seems like a pipe-dream that would require seismic shifts in food production practices and economics.
So, here we are instead, arguing over whether our current food practices are safe and whether people should even know, really, what they are eating. Or at least they are arguing about it in California.
This small bit of new knowledge does make me wonder... Can enough food be provided to reduce the hunger gap among US children by only using non-GMO products? I don't know, and I'm sure the answer can only be arrived at along a complicated path of considerations and data analysis.
I am thrilled that my donation will help feed kids, but for now it comes with a little bit of indigestion. And for the future, I'll have to spend more time thinking about the best use for the cause of the month donation.
If you live in California, I hope that you support Proposition 37 with your vote this November.
I also remember that concentrating during the period before lunch was nearly impossible. I suspect that I failed to retain bits and pieces of knowledge because I was so distracted by impending lunch. (Maybe that's why I'm still terrible at geography?) As an adult, not much has changed in my ability to concentrate with low blood sugar.
And so, I wanted to choose a cause of the month for September that supports nutrition for kids. How can kids focus in school if they haven't had enough to eat? Of course, today being the last day of September, I didn't spend much time doing research. I perused the website for No Kid Hungry, a campaign from Share Our Strength that's focused on ending child hunger in the US. They have several great programs to help feed kids and to improve food circumstances for communities.
After I made a donation, I looked a bit closer and saw that a primary partner for the No Kid Hungry campaign is ConAgra Foods Foundation. The Foundation is the philanthropic arm of ConAgra, a company that makes processed foods and is one of several corporations that put a significant amount of money into fighting Proposition 37--a ballot initiative in California that would require manufacturers to label genetically modified foods.
I don't think GMO products should be in our food, and I support labeling measures. (Consumers should be informed in the grocery store, so they can make choices without hunting for information elsewhere.) But Share Our Strength and the ConAgra Foundation as well as the dedicated people that work with them have done loads of work to help feed hungry children.
This discovery left me in a conundrum--how to talk about this suddenly complicated cause of the month. In the utopian UG world, we'd all be eating delicious, local, and sustainably produced foods prepared and served in a way that retains their nutrients in addition to their calories. Yes, I know. It seems like a pipe-dream that would require seismic shifts in food production practices and economics.
So, here we are instead, arguing over whether our current food practices are safe and whether people should even know, really, what they are eating. Or at least they are arguing about it in California.
This small bit of new knowledge does make me wonder... Can enough food be provided to reduce the hunger gap among US children by only using non-GMO products? I don't know, and I'm sure the answer can only be arrived at along a complicated path of considerations and data analysis.
I am thrilled that my donation will help feed kids, but for now it comes with a little bit of indigestion. And for the future, I'll have to spend more time thinking about the best use for the cause of the month donation.
If you live in California, I hope that you support Proposition 37 with your vote this November.
America, on the whole, suffers from cognitive dissonance and misguided jingoism. We are programmed to believe that we are the most free, democratic, moral and innovative country in history...yet the U.S. is the only industrialized nation without universal healthcare and one of the only without GMO labeling. It's not a surprise that the wealthiest and mightiest country on earth is also the biggest consumer and the most obese. We have collectively been lulled into complacency and ignorance not only through indulgence, but by agenda. There 'seems' to be more pushback and outrage over the slightest efforts towards a healthier culture than there is outrage over our diminishing fundamental liberties. I say 'seems' because it is what corporate interests dictate, hence what the mainstream media presents to the masses -thereby affecting and producing desired outcome. In other words, a self-fullfilling prophecy scripted by the Corporatocracy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts on the Food Cause Conundrum. It's hard for me to address these these statements directly without, most likely, a ton of research. It's also difficult to think in generalities without becoming overwhelmed by the complexity and depth of these issues. But I do think we can help address those that matter most to us by deciding how we spend our money and which foods we chose to consume. Though of course, this choice is not easily available to all of us. So, we can also look to support causes that help make them available for more folks more of the time. It kind of makes me wish I was living in California : )
DeleteIt's a no brainier when it comes to GMO labeling. If companies are actually confident that genetically engineered food is fine, then label it and let consumers decide for themselves. After all, isn't that how free markets are supposed to work?
ReplyDeleteIMHO, your indigestion is justified. You selflessly parted with your hard earned money in support of a noble cause and perhaps now question whether you were duped into giving cover to the enemy. As you pointed out, large companies pour tons of money & resources into fighting simple, common-sense disclosure. If associating with a charity offsets or balances the scales is up to everyone to decide for themselves, but we should all be on guard and always do a sniff test.
Bravo for being engaged and trying to engage others. Indeed research and discourse are key. The answer is not to move to Cali, but to bring more attention to this matter and make it a federal law.
Well said!
DeleteWell said!
Delete