The Politics of Health

I don't know if many of you have realized, buttttttttt it's election season. Are you as tired as I am of political calls, debates and candidate bashing?? I'm very hesitant to write a political blog because I really am not here to argue about politics with anyone (ahem, Jordan). I'm not here to tell anyone how to vote, because honestly, I still don't know who I'm going to vote for. I think all politicians are lying weasel scumbags, and that it's really the lesser of two evils in any election.

However, there are a few very important health related issues coming up in this election that I think people should be informed about. These are just issues that are personally important to me, and I understand that what I think is important may not matter to anyone else. The only thing that is important is that you vote and you make it an informed vote and stay true to what matters to you. No one who doesn't vote should be able to bitch about anything, ever. If you don't put your two cents in now, you don't get to later. Feel free to disagree with anything I have to say, but don't get nasty okayyyyy?!

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. First and foremost, for all my California voters out there, you've probably heard about Prop 37. In the food blogger and health food world, this is probably the biggest deal of anything going on. Prop 37, or "The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act," would basically require genetically modified food products to be labeled and would not allow these products to be advertised as "natural." All it is, is something that would allow consumers to know what they are consuming. It's common sense that this should be mandatory. However, there are some very big opponents of this proposition. Monsanto is a biotech company that was one of the first producers of very dangerous pesticides that are now banned in the U.S. They are also the largest financial contributer to the opposition of Prop 37. Recent studies have shown that rats that consume genetically modified food are more likely to develop cancers and die prematurely. GMOs go almost unregulated in the United States, despite the unknown side effects of these products.

The next issue is one that is very important to most of my friends, being that a lot of you are soon to be entering the health care field. And even if you're not, it's an issue that will affect everyone. Recent polls show that health care is the second most important issue for voters in this election (behind the economy and jobs). The two main presidential candidates differ in their opinions on every aspect of health care. The main component of the difference of opinions is the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Most people think that it is a law requiring everyone to have health insurance, and while true, that this is part of the Affordable Care Act, there are also other provisions that this act would mandate. It would require restaurants to publish caloric and nutritional information on their menus. It would also allow biologic drug manufacturers 12 years of production before generic versions can be developed. These two points, along with a few others were effective immediately. Other initiatives that would become effective over time, are contain provisions to not deny people health insurance coverage based on previous conditions and not require these people to pay higher premiums. Another aspect of this act would be the contraceptive mandate that would require insurance plans to cover many preventative treatments like mammograms and colonoscopies without a copay or deductible. This act also increases Medicaid eligibility and fines individuals and companies that do not have or do not provide health insurance. Keep in mind that this has already passed, and some of these things are already taking effect, while others are scheduled to take effect over the next few years; the issue is not whether or not this will pass after the upcoming election, but whether or not this will be repealed after the election. Since it is such a large overhaul to our existing health care system, there are obviously many controversies within the many aspects of this act, including funding of this system.

(Danielle, you should probably stop reading right here.)

The last thing I want to bring up is (okay ready for the eye roll) the environment. While I think it's great that we are importing less fossil fuels, I think we should be USING less fossil fuels. The United States uses more oil than any other country in the world, and argue if you will, but global warming IS happening. Every step of oil usage is a drain to our planet. Extracting it, transporting it, and then burning it. All bad. And while people may think natural gas is a healthier alternative for our environment, the effects of fracking can be devastating. It would be really awesome if we could explore some green energy sources, and reduce our energy consumption. We only have only planet and it would be cool if we didn't destroy it. Reduce, reuse, recycle. ;)

I know that there are some pretty serious issues going on in this country and to many people, the ones I've outlined here don't even make the top 10, but they are what's really important and interesting to me and most relevant to this blog. These are issues that will affect not only us, but every generation after us. I want my children and grandchildren to live in a safe, clean, healthy world, not some polluted, GMO-filled, cancer cesspool. I just want to emphasize that we are only given one body and one planet, and we should do our best to invest in and protect what we have and try not to fuck it up too badly.

Now enough with the politics, let's make some food!! :)