We have a lot of irons in the fire- and quick turnarounds whenever possible because everything is happening right now. Its a good time to be impatient- at least from our angle. We have other people that work magic over longer scales- the big dogs. We're the little ankle biter dogs and when I say we- I mean Ernie and I, and you. Not all our friends are on this website. We've been connecting with people left and right. And when we do, doors open- some fast, some slow. Quite often what we end up doing is making friends and introducing them to each other. That's part of the mission- to build this community so we can stick together and provide for ourselves what no one else is going to hand us. In fact, we have to defend our right to non-GMO food and anything that isn't the industrial global food model. That big phood industry isn't good for anything but taking from this world and giving nothing back. Right now the ideas are flowing, the opportunities are knocking and we go with whatever is working best at the moment... but we always keep track of our commitments. What's better than making a promise to someone - especially if they are already feeling its a lost cause- and then making it happen?

A friend asked how I could think we could make a difference when this industry is so powerful. I didn't have an answer- I just think we can. It's seemed pretty obvious this whole time about what is wrong and what small things need to be done here and there to move the boulder. Sometimes you just have to flick away the pebble next to the boulder and it falls on its own. We just try lots of pebbles! Sometimes we recruit pebble flickers. Wow - gotta call Time of Death on this analogy. What went wrong? Anyway, it wasn't that she was a pessimist or a quitter. She and everyone else like us are getting pummeled blow after blow and it seems like it will never stop. But I told her- I'm sorry but I can't hear you talking when you say I can't do something. And we laughed and that was that.

Here's what we're going to do. Goliath will keep smacking us and our food safety soldiers will keep fighting back. We'll keep winning in court, they'll keep influencing our increasingly wayward regulatory agencies to ignore law. They'll keep putting genetically violated life out in nature to conduct this experiment on the world and her inhabitants and we'll keep making them look more obviously foul until they become so much of a liability that the government does some housecleaning. That isn't a great plan in it of itself because we are talking about a lot of influence that they have- more every day- and we know that the balance of nature and our health and everything that is being corrupted is like a fire that is eating acres with every minute we are not ahead of it. But keep in mind that while as this is all going on, we're going to sneak around the side and keep flicking pebbles and We- us, and you, will drop this boulder right in the middle of the fight. All we need is to be a catalyst. After that boulder starts moving it will come down by itself.

Every day we are defending ourselves in court, the USA citizens are learning about how we're being victimized. Judges are becoming more disgusted with both the FDA & USDA and Monsanto. That Triad and any of the other drug/chemical/seed companies taking advantage of the climate these 3 are making for them have to be more overt in their inappropriateness in order to fight us. The plan could succeed indefinitely I suppose if the GM crops were doing well and their promises were panning out, but as it turns out, farmers are starting to see this was all a big shine-on. These crops are failing. When the farmers finally make that collective decision to send the snake oil salesmen packing, the industry will lose its grip on the nation because they can't control the food if the farmers won't do business with them anymore, period. Then, all they'll have are their deeds and long record of impropriety. That is why the boulder is perched on a pebble right now. And all the opportunities we ankle biters have to take these nips are coming from the big battles in court and in Washington where our allies fight, which is why we send everyone we can to their websites. In this project, we just need to keep going and take the opportunities as we see them- because any one of them might be the one that does the trick. But Ralph can express this idea much more eloquently than I ever could. I give you the wise words of Ralph Hinkley, the hero in the 1981 TV series The Greatest American Hero, in his pep talk to Tony, Episode 4 Season 1:

"You can’t predict what’s gonna happen. All you can do is keep making yourself ready for the best things. Gotta aim high insteada low. That way when the good things do come along, you’re better equipped to cash in. When the bad things happen, you’re better equipped to deal with it. And in the end, the quality of your life just keeps improving."

Well said, Ralph, well said.
 
 
Three weeks ago, we went to the Thursday Portland Farmers Market, located at NW 23rd and Savier. There we met lets of people who were interested in learning more about the GMO-Free life. Some were new to the idea and wanted to know what they were. Others were already familiar with them and just wanted to know how to avoid them. We had lots of literature to give away that covered both topics. We had the Non-GMO Shopping Tips Guide and the Health Risks Brochure from the Institute for Responsible Technology. We gave these out as a set with our business card attached. We also had a brochure from the Oregon chapter of the Physicians for Social Responsibility Campaign for Safe Food (Email the Director, Rick North, to get on his mailing list for his funny and shocking up-to-the-minute newsletter) about the rBST in milk and other dairy products. See the link on that page for "Know your milk" which you can view or write to us for a printed copy- a very well done booklet. We had post cards on hand from the PSR addressed to Dreyers and Breyers/Good Humor ice cream companies, asking them to discontinue the use of rBST in their products. People can just sign their name and mail. We even have the stamps on hand to make it easier for them!

On the fun side, we had menus for our patron restaurants, Cravin Ravin, Paga G’s and Proper Eats. We also had store flyers from patron Alberta Co-op Grocery, plus Food Front Cooperative Grocery (remember you don't have to be a member to shop at our co-ops, but there are neat unexpected benefits) and really neat things from New Seasons Market, including a new sustainable seafood brochure including the wallet card Seafood Watch from Monterey Bay Aquarium. There was a flyer from our newest patron, Dave’s Killer Bread, listing all of their products. Bob’s Red Mill joined in with a flyer for their products and a coupon for Steel Cut Oats. Lots of options to let people know where to go to find GMO-Free food in the Portland area.

For the kids (or kids at heart!), we gave away stickers from Dave’s Killer Bread and temporary tattoos from Alberta Co-op Grocery. How cool of a grocery do you have to be to have a tattoo!? We also have a gumball machine filled with organic jellybeans!  Oh and although this is organic junk food, the jelly beans have no non-GM or GMO high fructose corn syrup or the abomination "organic" high fructose corn syrup because Alberta Co-op grocery doesn't carry ANY Hfcs!) An added attraction that brought children (and their parents) over to our booth was our very soft and huggable dog Austin. He doesn't eat GMO's. He is a "huggle" - a husky beagle mix.

We had a great time talking with everybody. We will be out there in NW PDX again this coming Thursday, September 9, from 3pm to 7 pm. We were next to Food Front and the Portland Farmers Market info both right when you come in and we really enjoyed making new friends because they are so nice and helpful. We had FF's fresh gaspacho samples and laughed at the funny PFM tee-shirts. We also had a lot of amazing fruits and vege's that day. We will have a booth sometime at People's food co-op's own farmers market they've confirmed (the year-round farmers market!) and we will be at the Tigard Farmers Market 10/17, 10/24, and 10/31 (boo!) from 9-2pm. We will add more to the calendar which also gives links. We hope that you will take this opportunity to meet us in person, enter drawings if we have gift certificates again (it's ok if you know us or are even family- they're just little prizes), get a tattoo, and ask questions or tell us what you want on this site. We would love to see you there!
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Our booth at Portland Farmers Market, right next to Food Front's booth.
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Ernie and Austin in front of the booth.
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Mary at the booth, giving away flyers and menus.