Stop Blogging and Cook

All animals are equal,
but some animals are more equal than others.
~Eric Arthur Blair aka George Orwell (1903 – 1950) Animal Farm (1945)

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!
Today we celebrate winning our nation’s independence from political tyranny and becoming Americans.  Two hundred and thirty-four years later, it is time to promote freedom from another sort of tyranny:  tyranny at the hands of the special interests of the food industry.

Many people are frustrated because the government seems to put corporate and business interests – particularly in the food industry – over those of the citizenry.  Do you agree?  Are special interests running the regulatory show?  Your recourse is to write to those who represent you.  Make your voice heard.  It is the job of your Congressmen and Senators to bend to the will of their constituents.  That’s you.  The people.

Lobbying efforts notwithstanding, if enough people shout with a big enough voice, they will hear us.  And if they hear us, there is a chance that they will listen, but our voice has to be loud enough to be heard over the billions of dollars that industry pumps into lobbying efforts to insure that laws and regulations are passed that are beneficial to business.

Money has a very loud voice that gets attention.  But people have a loud voice, too.  It’s summer.  School’s out.  vacation looms.  It’s Sunday.  You have some time?  Make time.  Devote some of your www surfing to a form of self-expression that we like to think as uniquely American:  voicing our opinion to the highest levels of government.  Give a damn.

You can demonstrate in the streets. You can organize a rally.  You can write letters to the editors of major newspapers.  Instead of just selling lemonade, sell lemonade and talk to people about the issues.  Organize a letter-writing campaign among your friends and family and write to those at the national level:  Representatives in Congress, Senators, agencies (FDA, Dept of Agriculture, Health & Human Services), and even the President and First Lady.  The Obamas have gone on record as being concerned about health and food issues.  They need to know that you support substantive efforts to improve the food supply.

If you don’t know what to say, read comments written by others.  See yesterday’s post.  Or google blogs that are engaged in the discussion to explore the issues and examine your concerns.  Your writing doesn’t have to be eloquent.  It doesn’t have to be lengthy.  Just tell them how you feel.  Address the issues that concern you and your family.  And maybe we can save the food supply from the catastrophe of putting all of the benefits into the coffers of the food and chemical industries.

The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations are like people.  They can now give unlimited amounts of money to fund political campaigns, which means that they just upped the ante for an even louder voice.  A constitutional amendment  is the only way to overturn that ruling.  It’s been done before; it can be cone again.  It just takes political will.  And a voice to express that will.  We are a melting pot of many nations, with different languages, ways and traditions.  this is one concern we  all share and can benefit from equally.

We cannot afford to let American corporations become more equal than the American people.

EVER HEAR OF A RED VELVET?
I found the most wonderful fruit at the market:  the red velvet apricot.  Wondered how that was different from the apriums I spied a while ago.  The aprium is a cross between an apricot  (3/4) and a plum (1/4), and Wikipedia says that they are dryer than apricots.  The apricots I’ve had this year are terribly dry – and not even sweet, sour almost – so that doesn’t seem so interesting.  What they called red velvet apricots are far juicier and sweeter than any apricot I’ve had.  In fact, they are more like plums than apricots.  Plums recently have been very hard and dry, perhaps  a result of early picking.

As the name indicates, the outside is velvety, just like the softness of an apricot, but it is red with golden highlights.  And the inside is pure plum, golden in color.  Soft, silky, sweet juiciness.  Lots of natural fructose here.  Not clear if the red velvet is the same as the aprium, although there is a black velvet apricot.  The growing season for apriums is just the month of June, so they’re not long for this year.  As the trees mature, the growing season will lengthen.

I had them in my morning bowl: eight different fruits!  If you see them, don’t pass by the red velvet apricot without stopping.  Juicy, and appropriate any time of the day or night.

Tags: fruit, good for you food, snack, sugar, vegetarian, whole food