I'm not from Iowa and I don't know anything about this race but I did like this video.
All of us need to stand up to the corporations that have taken over the US so that we can begin to fix things. One of the best ways to do that... STOP buying their products! Spend a little time to investigate where you are letting your money go.

We need a better School Lunch program.

Everyone having access to fresh, local, healthy food is one of my biggest passions. I'm especially disheartened by the things that they try to pass off as "food" to our children at school. So I was very happy to hear that this Thursday Representative George Miller from California will be holding a full committee hearing on the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act of 2010.

This bill will expand access for millions of children to healthy meals in schools and other child care centers, call for farm to school sourcing, create a grant program for local food and establish nutrition standards for food sold outside of the cafeteria. Vending machines full of junk food will be out.

The downside of the bill is that it only raises the amount for school lunch by six cents. Right now, schools get about $1 for each meals ingredients. That is crazy. I know our government is broke already but we have to put money into our future and feeding our children healthy meals and teaching them about proper nutrition will pay for itself in the long run.

Call your House Representative before Thursday morning and ask them to bring this bill up for committee quickly and to fully fund the bill with at least an additional $1 billion per year.

One of my passions...

I have mentioned this from time to time but have not really stressed how much this topic means to me. I am very passionate about the safety of our food, products, pharmaceuticals and services here in the United States. I am very concerned that we have all turned a blind eye to a lot of things that are going on and it is going to affect us all in the long run.

Now I think I better start off by saying no I am not some kind of health guru, no I do not know everything and no I am not perfect myself. I am still learning. I still have to remind myself that I can't just pick something off of the shelf in the store and assume it is somewhat healthy. I do believe though that every little step you take in the right direction is important no matter how small that step may be.

I believe people in general for the last few generations have become too dependant on speed, convenience, the latest technology and now over look quality, safety and health. Also, I think sometimes we all just get so caught up in life itself that we don't take the time to really question some of the things going on. We Americans tend to take the fast and easy route in the name of saving time.

I mean say I want to stop smoking and decide to take a certain prescription med to help me do so. Have you heard the side effects that are possible...heart palpitations, sleeplessness, nausea and to top it off depression with possible suicidal thoughts? What do they say about these side effects...call the doctor if you experience them. Now I'm not an expert, but if a person is having suicidal thoughts I don't think they are going to be thinking clearly enough to call the doctor. I know smoking is not good for you but these are some serious side effects.
In fairness, I don't want to pick on this one prescription. There are MANY drugs out there that are for minor illnesses or symptoms that cause major problems. Consumers need to really look at what their situation is and try to find a cure for the problem not just a drug that will cover it up and cause problems elsewhere.
I'm not against all prescription drugs. If there is a drug that has to be issued to keep someone alive or to get them through until other changes to fix the problem can be done then I'm all for it. But I think popping a pill for some of our bad choices has become entirely all too common.

And our food...it doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at expiration dates on packaged food and not think something is wrong. Food is not meant to last that long. What piece of cake can you bake, wrap up and sit on your shelf for as long as a Twinkie? Read some of those packages. I wanted a small jar of maraschino cherries to bake a pineapple upside down cake this weekend. There were 11 ingredients listed on that jar and about 9 of them were chemicals. I put them back and we had the cake without cherries. The amount of chemicals, preservatives that are allowed in our "food" amazes me. I won't even go into the genetically modified and genetically engineered food...that is a whole subject by itself.

I really didn't intend for this post to be this long but like I said, it is a subject that I am very passionate about. If each of us used our voice by using our dollars to say what type of food we will buy, things will change. Real, wholesome, affordable food should be available to everyone and we can get there by taking small steps.

If I can give up Velveeta Shells and cheese...anything is possible.