Meatless Mondays Is Not A Bad Word...

After recently viewing the documentary Food Inc., I heard something that I had never heard before. Something that I found amazing that in this day and age of anti big government that such a law would be on the books in quite a few states. It’s called the “Veggie Libel Law.” Yes, you heard me right the Veggie Libel Law. Approximately a dozen or so states have enacted food disparagement statutes that basically makes it libel for anyone to make negative comments about the food industry or the food supply.  It has been posited that food disparagement laws are the descendants of  “Criminal Sedition Laws”, which made it a crime to criticize public officials.

Critics who speak out against the food industry may be held civilly liable for claiming any perishable food product or commodity is unsafe for human consumption. Even if the speaker is proven to be right they are still burdened with the cost of fighting such a law suit.

Now these laws are being used by the powerful to silence its’ critics. Individual activists and small media outlets are particularly vulnerable to this law. Since they do not have deep pockets to fight huge agricultural businesses they suffer the most when going up against mammoth size companies. I think the most familiar example of this is when the Texas Beef Industry took talk show host Oprah Winfrey to court. It took her 6 years and well over a million dollars to fight and win against such a powerful industry . All she did was voice her own personal choice to not eat beef based on the facts presented on her show on how the meat industry handled cattle.

So I guess the question becomes how does the little guy protect themselves against big business? How can we ensure that we are feeding our families the best quality of food? My suggestion is to read the labels before you purchase, support your local farmers markets, start a garden and whenever possible find cattle ranchers in your area that raise cattle on grass, not corn. Educate yourselves on the ethical treatment of cattle before slaughter.

I’m giving real consideration to at least starting “Meatless Monday’s” in my household. It’s a small step in a healthier direction.