Frankenfood or Real Food?
We Have the Right to Know What We Are Eating

GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) foods are not labeled in America.   However, most people, when asked if they want to eat food that has been altered by the forced invasion of genes from alien species such as bacteria and viruses, say "NO, I DON'T WANT TO EAT THAT!"  Unlike in Canada, Europe, Japan, and Australia, and over 50 countries in total where labeling is required, we in America have unknowingly been eating GMO foods since 1996.  

The expansion of GMO usage is relentless to the point that it is now difficult to find a processed food product in the grocery store that does not secretly contain some GMO ingredients.  Most animals are fed GMOs.  Corporate profit interests have superseded public health interests.  Scientific evidence has been ignored.  Production has been green-lighted.  Government regulation has been non existent.  GMO pollen spreads to other crops, other weeds.  Waning effectiveness will require ever increasing dosages and ultimately ever stronger replacements.  The same chemical company that gave us DDT, 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid, Agent Orange, Dioxin, PCB, Aspartame, rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone), Roundup herbicide and over 50 Super Fund toxic waste sites, is now designing the food on our tables.  We should have a sense of moral outrage at what has happened to our food supply!

Efforts to enact labeling laws in Congress and the California legislature have been blocked by big food and chemical company lobbyists. This issue needs to be communicated directly to the people so they can decide whether genetically engineered foods should be labeled.  It's time to send a strong, direct message to those who govern us, whether they be agency or elected, that we have a right to know what we are eating.  

The Committee for the Right to Know has formed as a grassroots coalition of consumer, public health, environmental organizations, and food companies in California that is seeking the labeling of genetically engineered foods (GMOs).  On November 9, 2011, the coalition submitted the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act to the State Attorney General for title and summary, prior to circulation as an initiative measure for the November 2012 election.  To qualify to be on the ballot we need 800,000 signatures by April.  Towards that goal, we have been setting up free showings of the documentary "The Future of Food" to inform people of the issues and to establish grassroots support.  Recently we have started training teams, in order to be ready for gathering signatures, and we plan to actually begin gathering signatures in public places February.  

If you eat food, you should be concerned!  
If you have some free time, we need your help.
To volunteer or for more information, please go to LabelGMOs.org

For local information and/or to volunteer, please contact: Kerne Erickson
Orange County Coordinator
949-514-5523
labelgmosocnews@cox.net

Future of Food Film and GMO Labeling Discussion  

Date: Sunday, January 29, 2012 

Location: Community Room, Community Center, University Hills, 1083 California Ave., Irvine 92617

GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) foods are not labeled in America even though this is information that most Americans say they would prefer to have about the food they are eating.

SFOC will be co-sponsoring a session featuring the showing of the film "The Future of Food," a 90-minute documentary exploring the issue of GMOs made by Deborah Koons Garcia.

Following the film, Kerne Erickson, the OC local organizer, will discuss an effort in California to put an initiative on the November ballot that would require labeling on foods to indicate whether they contain GMOs.  See previous article for more information.

Sunday, February 5th  

Location: Laguna Beach

In this class you will have an opportunity to learn the basics of vermiculture (worm composting), view an operational vermiculture system and be part of a demonstration on how to construct your own system. There will be a drawing and the winner will take home the demonstration system. 

In addition, an operational aquaponics system will be viewed and discussed, in which fish and vegetables are raised together so the fish help feed the plants and the plants clean the water for the fish. 

This 2-hour class is limited to 20 people and will be held at a private home in Laguna Beach. Address information will be provided at checkout. Click this link to register for $10. https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/220824.

Date: Saturday, March 10th
Time: Various Tour Times
Location: Trabuco Canyon

Frank Fitzpatrick, owner of the 5 Bar Beef Ranch, says "I won't sell anything that I won't eat." He has owned his herd of Barzona (a composite breed of beef cattle developed in the high desert, inter-mountain region of Arizona in the 1920s and 1930s) cattle for over 31 years. The yearlings are brought to the Trabuco Ranch and run for over one year. They are raised on natural grasses and browse. Their supplemental feeding consists of crop residue and/or non-irrigated hay -- no hard grain is fed. SFOC will offer 40-minute tours of the ranch, where you will learn about sustainable beef production and get information about how to purchase this incredible product. Tours are free. RSVP information to come!  

Are you looking for a dining out venue that is a true "Slow Food" Experience?

One of our board members, Linda Elbert, provides a "Slow Food" dining experience at The Basement Table. Each month, for one night only, The Basement Table prepares a dinner created from seasonal, local, and sustainably produced ingredients. The meal is a 5-course dinner with optional wine pairings. Vegetarian options are always available. The dinner is prepared for 20 guests who join each other at a community table at a changing "secret" location in Orange County. If you are interested check out the web site. At the web gallery you can see photos of past dinners.

Friday, January 20th is the next dinner. Sign up on the web site to receive the menu for this upcoming dinner and to find out how to make a reservation. This next dinner will be a special experience, you will dine "in the kitchen" and be able to ask questions and watch preparation and plating of your dinner. Come, make new friends and enjoy a fabulous meal!

Both demonstration and hands on cooking classes that focus on cooking with seasonal, local ingredients are also available.

Slow Food Orange County celebrated Terra Madre Day by inaugurating an annual Food Swap. 

Our members were invited to bring items they had made, grown or foraged themselves and swap in order to diversify their home pantries and get some holiday gifts. 

The spread included avocados and Meyer lemons, pie in a jar, quince paste, goat cheese, peach, plum, strawberry and onion jam, and feijoa and jalapeno jelly -- and of course sampling was encouraged and accompanied by a delicious potluck meal. What a delightful way to get together as a community at the end of the year and enjoy the bounty of our locally-made foods!