The USDA is on my list!

Image by edlabdesigner via Flickr

I woke up in an off mood today. I had to deal with my Grandfather’s wake yesterday afternoon, a late evening phone call from my mother reassuring me everyone was okay in case I caught the news (there was a shooting at the funeral home I had left just a few hours earlier), and then I came out of a dead sleep to my husband yelling at my toddler for daring to be chipper before the sun had fully risen. All told, not a set of circumstances that would help anyone be in a good mood. I got my son out of the room, hoping my husband would catch a bit more sleep and wake up in a better frame of mind. Fast forward a bit and I hear “Ohh Traci this is going to make you mad,” …never a good sign.

Turns out MSN ran this article today, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31719136/from/ET/, and like any husband who knows his wife Eric instantly spotted that it was sure to set me off.

When I first started college I was premed. Shortly into that first semester I realized that my future was looking a little more green then red and I happily began following a course load that should pave my way into environmental lobbying. My family viewed it as eccentric but even at that point I knew there was something wrong with how we grow, process and store our food. With the rise in illnesses, cancer, and problems like diabetes becoming a household word, we are looking to medication to band-aid the problem instead of our lifestyle to solve it.

Although I wanted to pursue a career in lobbying my moral fiber would never let me work on an agenda that could harm. I find it irresponsible and ethically detrimental to society for high ranking US officials to knowingly discuss selectively banning known neurotoxins. As a firm believer in the adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” I find it very disheartening that our government would seek to undermine their own label in the interests of big business. Many consumers, including myself, use that label to guide purchases that are better for our family. I for one will be very careful moving forward trusting a label that can so obviously be bought.

Ms. Robinson, I say shame on you!