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The image above has been circulating around Facebook and Twitter all week in the circle of environmentalist. California voters have a chance to change our food supply this November by voting to have GMO’s labeled on packaging. There are many companies that are fighting this measure and putting their money where their mouth is.
As with all major political battles people look to see who is behind the money. The poster above from the Cornucopia Institute shows what companies are contributing money to fight the labeling campaign but what I think has struck people even more is their favorite organic companies are actually owned by big business.
So what does this mean for the GMO fight? Probably not that much. These parent companies have so many brands it does not mean that their fight against GMO labeling means they are going to use them in the “natural” products listed above. These parent companies also have a lot more money they can pump into this fight in the next 2 months. On the simplest level these companies have a reason to fight it because they have to change all their labeling.
What I think it shows consumers, and this is what shocked so many this week, is that our “healthy” food is actually part of the huge corporate food structure in the US. Our food supply is ruled by big business, a fact we all really know, but when we shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s we feel like we are beating big business and eating healthy. This food may still be healthier for us and have less impact on the planet but it is part of our modern food chain.
So do we run for the hills and assume we can never eat anything ever again? No, that is just not possible. We can get GMO’s labeled and know what we are eating. So if some of these big companies feel that they want to offer cheaper food with GMO’s we can avoid them. If we want to go to Whole Foods and choose food that does not contain GMO’s we can do that to.
We cannot change the modern food supply overnight so we need to make sure that we are informed so our choices can make the food supply what we really want it to be.
It is not hard to imagine that The Lorax book is a favorite in my house. So when we did not get to see the movie in the movie theater we did the next best thing we purchased it on DVD. It is not the greenest thing to purchase DVD’s but I do believe that when you have young children the classic kids movies should be purchased on DVD so they can be watched over and over and over again.
I fully expected Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax movie to be packaged in an environmentally friendly way. I was horrified when I saw it packaged the way we see every other DVD wrapped in plastic with a cardboard sleeve with a plastic holder inside! I could not believe it.
I went on line to see if we had failed to order the commemorative green version of the movie. To my knowledge there was no such version.
It sounds dramatic but I was so disappointed. Here I am teaching my daughter about the environment and the Lorax story is one of the ways we talk about what we can do and it shows up in the least ecofriendly packaging I can think of.
So I looked for a recycling symbol on the packaging and there was none!! There was “AGIPolymatrix” “eco-lite” imprinted on the spine on the inside of the DVD case. So I took to Google and did some research and this case uses 26% less plastic than other cases. I also found many message boards of DVD collectors complaining about this case because it is “flimsy.” While I would agree it weighs less than other DVD cases and is “flimsy,” it is still plastic, has no recycling symbol and was wrapped in plastic.
According to www.the-numbers.com in the first week of DVD sales totaled 1,964,701. So that means that 1,964,701 DVD cases will be around when my great, great, grandchildren will be born and we know that this is just what was sold not what was produced.
So for a movie that opening scene talks about a world made completely of plastic with nothing natural in it and has an over arching theme of environmentalism, waste reduction and appreciation for nature…. the packaging was a cruel joke and a mixed message for children.
Want to let Universal know they failed our children here is how:
Tweet them at @universalEnt @TheLorax and tell them you are disappointed in their packaging. Here is a sample “@universalEnt I am disappointed in your packaging for @TheLorax Maybe you need to watch the movie again #GreenFail”
Post something on their Facebook wall for Universal Entertainment and The Lorax and tell them what you think.
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