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You Win Some

I am so proud of the majority of Americans for making the best choice of presidential candidate. After all, we live in a DEMOCRACY not a racist, elitist, women oppressing dictatorship, monarchy, or fascist country where opportunity is only for the privileged men that make over $434,682 in adjusted gross income a year or own big corporations. Who did you think you were fooling Romney?

Thousands of  UCB students watching the election anxiously waiting for Obama to win      
I'm disappointed, however, on the majority of Californians who voted against their health, the health of the environment, their right to know, and pro irresponsible corporations who don't want to be transparent with their consumers because they just want their money and could care less about their health or the environment. News about Proposition 37's opposition propaganda people: 1) A label was not going to cost anyone anything, companies already have to label, except that under current labeling law they are not required to let you know that their products are made out of GMO crops that are filled with poisonous pesticides! 2) If GMOs had the capability of feeding the world, how come after 20 years of being out there destroying the land, environment, and health they haven't ended hunger, when this was the only argument they had to their favor. GMOs needed to be tested for a LONG  time before they could be introduced to our soil and our foods. Biotechs and the government are using people ignorant of the science and uneducated or misguided in the subject as humans ginny pigs. 3) Things can be done right while the world population is being fed. There's no excuse for hunger. But I guess the first thing we need to work on is on getting rid of the conqueror colonial capitalist greedy mentality. Because, even more news: this land we live in was our inheritance from our ancestors who took good care of it, and it is our legacy to next generations, and we are destroying it with GMO monoculture agriculture. And by continuing the use of pesticides that these GMO monocultures require, we are affecting our quality of life during our lifetime, the quality of life of our offspring, and sabotaging our species. 


I really never expected California to miss-out on this amazing opportunity to be the first ones to bring this alarming issue into politics. So many people worked so hard so that Californians had the privilege of having that choice in our ballots, because everyone has the right to know what's in the foods they eat, and we as consumers should demand that right from the producers of the food. How did we get to the point where good healthy food is the one that has to be labeled organic, natural, without hormones or antibiotics, and cost more; while bad food dominate our supermarkets, it's viewed as "normal" and it's low cost because of the higher demand from consumers, which in turn makes it more accessible? Sorry for the rant, but promise me you'll think about it. 

On the brighter side of things, the ones who started this political movement and voted in favor should be so proud, it was a narrow loss of votes. Even after the opposition, companies like Coca-Cola and Monsanto, spent over $45 million in confusing and deceptive advertisement. Thanks to Pam Larry who started the process of collecting the 800,000 signatures required to bring this choice into our ballots, and to all the other organizations and individuals who helped-out. Collectively we made millions of more people aware, who agree things need to change – and fast. So it was a HUGE MOVEMENT VICTORY!

We are in for the national food fight of our lives people! 
Update: Found Food Fight for you to watch online free if interested...

On a different note, Tuesday was exciting in many ways, not only because of the election, or because it was a beautiful 80˚ Fahrenheit fall day, but also because Jerome Waag, Chef, Chez Panisse Restaurant; Charlie Hallowell, Chef and Restaurateur (Pizzaiolo, Boot and Shoe Service); Samin Nosrat, Chef, Author and Teacher; and Harold McGee, Author; lectured us in Michael Pollan's series of lectures about the art of cooking, taste chemistry, and the difference using prime ingredients makes. They even cooked us a sample of a delicious sauce made out of a very special kind of tomatoes. It was interesting watching the Chez Panisse crew cooking and in conversation with Pollan and McGee.

Charlie Hallowell, Jerome Wagg, Samin Nosrat, Harold McGee, and Michael Pollan lecturing on cooking

This week I thought a lot deeper about how terribly the way we think about food in our culture contributes to our disconnection with nature and each other.

Food for thought...
and as usual, healthy nesting to everyone.

Related article: http://localsustainability.streamshare.com/posts/4013

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