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What it is about is an e-mail I received from Organic Valley. I'm on their mailing list so I can get coupons for milk as often as possible. Since we go through about six gallons of organic milk a week, any little bit helps.
They sent me an e-mail this morning asking for a moment of my time to write the USDA about their plan to approve a genetically engineered alfalfa for commercial use. Today is the last day the USDA will be accepting input on this subject.
This was an excerpt from their e-mail:
You may not think about alfalfa much when you're drinking organic milk, but organic alfalfa is important to organic farming, as a nourishing animal feed that's also a nitrogen-fixing soil enhancer. Once GE alfalfa is introduced, its contamination of non-GE plants - including organic - is all but inevitable. And because alfalfa is fed to dairy cows and other livestock, contamination puts organic dairy and meat at risk, too! Learn more
In their EIS, the USDA states "There is no evidence that consumers care about GE contamination of organic alfalfa." We know that you do care. Let's not be Monsanto's guinea pigs!
Then they included a plea and a link to leave a comment on the USDA website, and then to let them know that I did so.
So, as requested, I left a comment, then followed up with an e-mail to the sender. This is an excerpt from that e-mail:
I doubt the effectiveness of speaking my piece to a government more interested in staying in the good graces of big business than in representing the people, but at least I made an effort.
She replied and told me that the whole organic movement (Organic Rule... I don't know if that means anything) is a result of public interest and demand.
So I'm doing an informal poll. I've never done anything like this before, so I'm not sure what kind of response I'll get, but here goes...
I've become increasingly riled up about the trend of our government, and increasingly convinced that my voice really doesn't make a difference. So, this is my question....
Do you think you have a say? Do you think your vote, or comment, or e-mail, or phone call, or letter makes any difference?
2 comments:
It always makes A difference, somewhere, to someone. Sometimes it's just hard to reach your desired audience.
I like the saying, "Think globally, act locally" We live in a world where a movement can be started by one person who says and acts upon thoughts that many people think but don't take the time to express or pursue...so I guess I think any effort makes a difference, big or small.
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