Organic Schmorganic

I have been working on an essay on why I think thinking about what you are eating is so important, tying in local and organic issues, but I've been finding it difficult because it is something that I think is SO important. The fact that most of what most of us (people in this country) eat on a regular basis barely counts as food is so huge, yet most of us don't even think about it.

At some point I'll get that essay done and put it up here. In the meantime, I read (and maybe you should) this article in the Washington Post online. It discusses some specific issues with organic labeling and regulations, and just why we need to think deeper about whether or not a label has a stamp.

Some snippets:

"This is really a case of 'justice delayed is justice denied,' " said Alexis Baden-Mayer, national political director for the Organic Consumers Association. "The truly organic dairy farmers, who have their cows out in the pasture all year round, are at a huge competitive disadvantage compared to the big confinement dairies."

""I say, 'Let's find a way to bend that one, because it's not important.' . . . What are we selling? Are we selling health food? No. Consumers, they expect organic food to be growing in a greenhouse on Pluto. Hello? We live in a polluted world. It isn't pure. We are doing the best we can." -Joe Smillie, VP of a certifying firm that does certification for over 65% of the brands you find on the supermarket shelves.

I say, if you can - know your farmer. More than anything else, just try and THINK a little more about what you're eating and where it comes from.

Red White & Blue

I love this country. It is the best country on the planet and still worth standing up for, as flawed as we are - we are still a true democracy and I'm proud.
I also love the New York Times, who had this simply printed on the back of the front section:
Have you read The Declaration of Independence lately? Or the Constitution? Maybe we all should, and really think about what it meant then, and what it means now. Maybe if we did that we'd stop hollering at each other and be able to have a discussion. That is my wish this 4th of July.

Happy Independence Day!

Newsosaur

I got to have dinner the other night with my aunt, my uncle, and this guy.

We talked about a broad variety of subjects including religion, porn, socks, wealth, revenge, and of course, the state of journalism today.

It made me think, what do more of people my own age think about the state of journalism? Do most of us think about it? I believe that if tomorrow all newspapers disappeared, most of us would feel it. We'd miss the touch of newspapers, the physicality of the information and images. I can't argue against the power and scope of news on the internet, but I think we've arrived at a disconnect between us getting our information and actually appreciating where it comes from.
Reporting - actual journalism, people - takes time and *money*... Until the last decade plus, the sale of newspapers and advertising fed that need. But now, since everything is a click away and they stopped making us pay for it, they are quickly going out of business.

So what do we do? I know I've thought a lot about it, and I know there are smarter and more powerful people thinking about it and actually trying to do something. Inevitably newspapers as we know them cannot last. I really really really hope they can figure something out though so I can still sit with a paper on my lap as I sip coffee. That is one of my true pleasures. In fact as I flipped through the New York Times this morning I actually got excited to spend some quality time with it later because every single cover story was one I wanted to finish. It's going to be a treat sometime later in the day.

Every day as I acknowledge how much smaller the paper has gotten I send out a silent wish. "Please save yourselves, newspaper people. We'll pay as soon as you start making us. Love, Caitlin."