New Year Resolution: To Stop Voting for Foods that are Making Us Sick and Fat

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It’s that time of year again where many of us reflect on our accomplishments of the past year and set new goals for the coming year. I’ve never been a big fan of making New Year resolutions because statistics show that most of us can’t keep them. However, I do make them, but what I am a big believer in is consistently setting and working towards new goals throughout the year and continuing one’s education for life.

One of my goals for the coming year is to be committed to clean eating and remembering to vote with my dollars for clean, sustainable, non-GMO and organic foods. And in doing so, it’s my small way to vote against the corporate and government corruption of putting profits before people, animals and our environment.

This is not only a personal issue of mine, but it’s also a national crisis. Our food supply is one of the unhealthiest in the world and yet we are one of the richest and supposedly one of the most educated nations in the world. I say supposedly because we tend to bury our heads in the sand when it comes to our self-responsibility of maintaining a healthy BMI, exercising regularly, clean eating, and understanding our food supply. Most of us have no idea where the food we eat comes from and what’s done to it before it winds up on our plates.

Those who control the food system want to keep it this way and continue to put profits before people. For years we have let greedy government officials and corporate executives have the power because every time we buy the cornucopia of unhealthy products that they have put before us, we are essentially telling them that’s what we want. It’s simple supply and demand.

I think it’s time to stop putting profits before people, and stop buying from companies who produce unhealthy and non-sustainable products and buy only from companies who genuinely care and produce clean, sustainable, non-GMO and organic foods. Because it is only then that they’ll stop producing the harmful foods and products that line the shelves of American grocery stores.

How do we do this? We vote with our dollars every time we shop and eat out. In addition, we have to educate the market because right now the marketing of lies and spin through advertising and other marketing vehicles bombard the average consumer on a daily basis. We all have the power to educate others by simply telling our family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. And we can take it a step further by blogging about it, researching and writing books, or even producing a documentary, such as the one done by Filmmaker Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser, investigative journalist and author of Fast Food Nation.

Kenner and Schlosser are the producers of Food Inc., an eye-opening documentary about America’s food industry. From Food Inc.’s site:

Food Inc. lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Food Inc. trailer available at: www.foodincmovie.com

If you haven’t seen Food Inc. I encourage you to see it, host a screening of it and help educate others about this crisis. With the power of social networks there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be spreading the word about this crisis to protect our own health and that of future generations.

As you reflect on your past year’s accomplishments and set New Year resolutions, I encourage you to join me in making a commitment to clean eating and voting with your dollars by purchasing clean, sustainable, non-GMO and organic foods.

Remember, at the end of the day the most powerful and effective way to make our voices heard is to vote with every dollar we spend.