I recently read an article on the New York Times website by food celebrity Michael Pollan entitled "Vote for the Dinner Party." The question at the heart of the article is whether or not the "food movement" is going to go from soft politics to a more prominent political issue, especially in light of California's Prop 37, which would require manufacturers to label and Genetically Modifies (GM) foods.
Although the "food movement," as he calls it, has made strides in the last few years in bringing food issues to the public (think Pink Slime and cows being fed gummy bears), it isn't typically a top issue in political discussions.
There has been progress for the so-called food movement, but that progress has been countered with as much (if not more) force from big corporate food giants such as Monsanto and DuPont. Pollan notes that this may be the reason we are not one of the more than 60 countries that have seen fit to label genetically modified food, yet. Come November 6th, the hope of those in the food movement is that Prop 37 gets passed and that there is nothing legally that Monsanto or any other corporate food giant can do, except be transparent about their use of GM foods.
Beyond Prop 37, Pollan points out that although President Obama's administration has made many changes in the USDA in terms of local foods and crops, he has yet to fulfill his 2008 promise that the food we eat gets labeled so we knew what we were putting in our bodies. His hope, come November 6th, is that Prop 37 is passed, catching the eye of the President and the rest of the nation, upgrading the issue's political status nationwide.