Explore Coverage

Living Maxwell

Archive

Being Political, What I Try To Do Here

I was at a Super Bowl party on Sunday and ran into a friend that I hadn’t seen in quite a while.

We started talking and he mentioned someone’s name to me, a former Wall Street professional who is now an organic foods chef.

The first thing that he said about this individual is “He’s very political.”

Without hesitation, I responded “So am I. When you see what is going on, how can you not be?”

Given my background, it is hard to believe that these words now come out of my mouth.

Even though my college was a hotbed for political activism, I avoided that scene altogether and never had any strong opinions, about politics or otherwise.

And when I started livingmaxwell two years ago, I figured I would only write about interesting products, growing trends, and emerging companies.

Yet, as soon as I got immersed in the industry and fully understood the scope to which organic food was under attack and how it was not being protected by our own government, it upset me greatly. And I couldn’t help but share my thoughts on the subject in order to galvanize support for organic.

To me, there are a few key issues that are still quite problematic.

1) GMOs MUST BE LABELED We are the only developed country in the world that doesn’t label genetically-modified food.

The U.S. patent office gives patents to GMOs because they are unique and different, but the USDA and FDA believe there is no difference between GM-food and Non-GMO food. This is totally absurd.

Consumers have a right to know what is in their food.

2) ALL GMOs GET APPROVED GMOs are being rubber stamped by the USDA without the completion of independent environmental/safety studies.

Anything that gets submitted, essentially gets approved. This appears to be the case with the impending approval of GM-corn that is resistant to 2,4-D, a toxic herbicide used to kill hundreds of thousands in the Vietnam War.

We will soon be spraying the seriously poisonous 2,4-D on our farmland.

3) ORGANIC FOOD AND FARMERS ARE NOT BEING PROTECTED Go watch Food, Inc. or The Future of Food to see how farmers’ lives are being ruined because someone else’s GMOs have unknowingly landed on their properties. Therefore, the farmers face massive lawsuits, accused of patent infringement.

Also, the recent deregulation of genetically-engineered alfalfa will destroy the organic meat and dairy industries.

4) THE WATER SUPPLY IS NOT BEING PROTECTED According to the EPA, we use about 1.1 billion pounds of chemicals per year, 80% of which are used for agricultural purposes.

The Pesticide Action Network reports that 59 different pesticide residues have been found in our water supply including carcinogens, neurotoxins, hormone disruptors and reproductive toxins.

People tell me all of the time how NYC has the best tap water in the country. Well, I just changed my water filter the other day and this is what it looked like.

—-

While I do have very strong political opinions about organic food and share them here, I try not to overburden people and do my best to keep a good balance.

This means also writing about products, companies, trends, trade shows, restaurants, and other organic related news. My goal is to inform while making the experience of visiting my blog enjoyable.

Thank you so much for supporting organic food. I am greatly appreciative.

A message from Tradin Organic

How Tradin Organic is Helping Coconut Farmers in The Philippines

For more than a decade, Tradin Organic has been working with local partners in The Philippines to bring a diversified range of organic products to the market, such as coconut oil, tropical fruits and even cocoa.

The company is helping to support local farmers by assisting them with technical support and organic certification, in addition to paying Fairtrade premium on top of the organic premium.

Learn more.

livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink