Of course as an organic gardener I am supporting the labeling of foods containing GMOs.  I am not supporting this bill because I want to sell more organic produce.  I grow organic produce because I do not want to expose myself to pesticides or foods that will irritate my poor, delicate, damaged digestive system. 

As a social psychologist I work with people who need to put everything they have into the chores of communicating, feeding themselves, getting along with family and, with support, working at a job.  The common cold leaves my clients in bed unable to talk or care for themselves.  The slightest digestive insult catapults them into a trance like state where they stare at the wall and snarl at anyone who interrupts them.  Other clients may have raging or weeping melt-downs.  Vulnerable people need to know what is in their food.

So today, Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Grocery Manufacturer Assn., and DuPont sent me a silly flyer about why I should vote no on an Initiative I was eager to support.  It is an excellent example of using half-truths and generalization to support a position that does not benefit the health and wellbeing of the people of my state. 

The first point on the flyer is that the “law that would impose complicated food labeling regulations in Washington that do not exist in any other state.”  Yay!! Yes.  We are the second to try to get labeling.  We’re pioneers.  However, the labeling does exist in other countries if GMO containing products are not banned outright.  It exists in Canada, England, Germany, Russia and that bastion of product safety, China.  Labeling of GMO’s exists in about 55 other countries. 

The anti-GMO labeling forces attempted to answer several questions:

What would I-522 do?  Oh dear, the chemical industries’ point is vague and misleading.  Yes, the initiative would require foods containing GMOs to be labeled.  They mention again that this label would be just for Washington.  Companies are free to use the GMO identifying label in any state they wish.  They can use the same labels they use in Canada or England.  Yes, foods that are not directly genetically modified are exempt.  The purpose of the law is to label those things that are genetically modified.  Those products like milk and wine that have not been subject to genetic modification are exempt.  If the genes of mushrooms have never been messed with in a lab the mushrooms are exempt.

How much would I-522 cost taxpayers? We don’t know.  It depends on how compliant food manufacturers are.  I participated in the process for adopting warning labels for alcohol products sold in Washington.  You see the signs we petitioned for wherever liquor is sold.  The process took several hours from several people about half of them were volunteers.  I’m certain the liquor industry spend some substantial money fighting the process.  Still the labels were implemented with very little cost to the state of WA. The liquor control board monitors the labeling again at little cost.  The GMO producers will drive the cost on this process so their statements sound like extortion based on my experience.  Vote no or we will bankrupt the state with procedural obstruction.  I never give in to extortion.

Who’s behind I-522  I am.  I am an organic grower living on Vashon Island in WA.  People like me who are concerned about their own health and the health of those in their communities are behind this bill.  As I mentioned before I am concerned also for the health of our vulnerable consumers.  The anti-labeling people say that I-522 is funded by millions of dollars from out-of-state food manufacturers looking for a competitive edge.  The Monsanto company, just one of the corporations fighting this bill controls 40% of our food supply.  This is a case of David vs Goliath.   I want to thank everybody in this country who is helping Washington State win this battle for the right to know what is in our food.  Reality Check: Grocery Manufacturers Assn. DuPont, Monsanto, Dow, and Bayer are listed on the flyer I received as the top five contributors to the vote No effort.  All of these are out of state Corporations and they complain that Vote Yes has out of state contributions.

Is there a food labeling system in place?  Yes. I personally choose organic foods when available.  But Certified Organic is a layer of protection that is not necessary in all products for all people.  In the past our food supply was safe.  People are still inclined to believe that there are no potentially harmful agents in our food.  Labeling addresses that issue.  Also, over the years I’ve found that some of my favorite products have been bought out by the big food processors and the recipe is changed without warning.  If I’m accustomed to buying Kettle potato chips, I’d hate to see that company taken over by Lays and altered without telling me.  I usually figure this out when I get sick.  Getting sick is not a substitute for labeling.  Also, I’d love to find products that are not organic but may be GMO free. 

What’s the bottom line?  The anti-labeling people state that I-522 would lead to inaccurate and unreliable information.  Um…Oh My…does this mean that they will do their best to be inaccurate and unreliable?  I doubt that I-522 is absolutely perfect-only God is perfect.  But I-522 is as good as humans can make a piece of legislation.  We do have the right to know what is in our food.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Awareness Day was first observed Sept. 9 1999.  That year we rang bells all around the world.  Every year since I have participated by publishing an article or speaking at an event.  Today I want to spend a few moments describing what FAS is and what it is not.

My understanding of FAS comes from working beside Ann Streisguth and Sterling Clarren from the University of Washington where FAS was first defined for the AMA.  I’ve also spent time with Ed Riley and am familiar with his work.  In addition to my relationship with these primary researchers I was on the board of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Family Resource Institute for the fourteen years of its existence.  The Washington State Division of Alcohol and Substance abuse provided our primary funding.  For special events we received funding from other agencies impacted by the disability. 

When talking about research it is appropriate to mention methodology.  Over a period of fourteen years, we interviewed over seven thousand (7,000) families who were living with someone with FAS.  Seven thousand is a really good base for learning about your subject.  We had a standard form we filled out for each person.  The form included information about diagnosis and co-occurring conditions.  We asked about IQ and success in school.  We asked about interventions that work.

We quickly learned that FAS is not about mental retardation.  Much of our effort was spent teaching about what FAS looks like in someone with a normal IQ.  Because not everybody with FAS has a low IQ and not everybody with FAS has Attention Deficits, we set about finding what everybody with FAS does have.  We wanted to answer the question about what made someone with an IQ of 120 behave exactly like someone with an IQ of 63.  It became obvious to us that with FAS, IQ is not the measure of success that it is for someone without brain damage.

We eventually defined what we call the core disability characteristics that everybody with FAS has.  Dr. Glenna Andrews, a specialist in agenesis of the corpus callosum was able to construct a valid, reliable screening tool for FAS from our definition of the Core Disability Characteristics.  We found our list of the Core Disability Characteristics to be spot-on for answering our question about why someone with an IQ of 120 acts just like someone with an IQ of 63.

Impaired Cause and Effect learning: People with FAS make the same mistakes over and over and never will learn from their mistakes without intervention

Moral Chameleon Behavior:  People with FAS have problems with following an internal set of values about who they are.  One young man summed it up by saying, “I am who I need to be to be with the people I’m with at the moment.”

Impaired Conceptual reasoning:  This impairment begins to show up at about age eight.  It manifests in an inability to manipulate concepts.  We say people with FAS just don’t “get it.”  Many, many parents would start an interview by saying that their child “Just doesn’t get it.”  “It” being most of life.

Emotional Volatility:  All parents talked about melt-downs and explosions.  This seemed to be related to an inability to filter stimuli, which caused fatigue when the individual wasn’t having a rage.

Vulnerable to co-occurring conditions:  Individuals with FAS have an alphabet soup of diagnoses including autism, bipolar, health impaired, depression, ADD, ADHD.  Not all people with FAS have all those diagnoses so they cannot be used to describe FAS and not all people who have those diagnoses were prenatally exposed to alcohol.  We recommended that students with FAS should qualify for Special Ed services under Health Impaired.

I often hear someone say, “I drank with all my children and there is nothing wrong with them.”  I heard this from the mother of a juvenile delinquent who was living on the streets, using drugs and participating in gang activity.  I’ve heard it from mothers whose children appeared successful except for having been married three times.   I’ve heard it from people who admit to always being broke despite making a good wage.  Not all failures in life are due to prenatal exposure to alcohol.  Still, I have to wonder what would our country look like if we were completely free from the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol. 

For more about FAS*FRI, access to FASTimes online, or Glenna Andrew’s screening tool visit, http://www.fetalalcoholsyndrome.org/index.php/page/fas

Note:  People in photo at top of page.  Back row - Dot Workman, Susan Bradley Front row- Vicki McKinney (mother of the bride Abby) Delinda McCann (holding bride's bouquet from Calico Gardens) Jocie DeVries and Linda LaFever.  Fairly typical picture--Vicki talks we listen.

Today is a good day to talk about peace.  How do we maintain our sense of peace when the world is at war?  How do we maintain peace when we must dig through report after report full of lies before we can find a grain of truth?  How do we maintain inner peace when our careful, considered work of a lifetime is swept away by someone else’s enticing lies?

Should we strive for inner peace when we are facing mountains of social injustice before us?  Of course we must, or the injustice will kill us.  Our inner peace is what keeps the body’s hormones balanced and our bodies in good working order.  The trick becomes one of working for social justice while maintaining an appropriate inner balance.  It isn’t easy.  I admire those who perfect the skill of radiating peace while speaking out for social justice.  I’ve also noticed that such people are far more effective at influencing social justice than I am.

I think those who do maintain inner peace while being effective advocates for justice have a sense of perspective that sees the big picture while rejoicing in the details of life.  I am more inclined to get sucked into the problems before me and agitate over those problems until I get sick.  There are many problems in our human condition that are not just and are sickening.  We must do our best to stop the worst of the practices that victimize the innocent.  Getting a stress related illness is not the most effective way of addressing those injustices.  So, how do we focus on the big picture while rejoicing in the details?

I’m not the best person to answer this question, however, I’m not going to tell you that there is only one way to achieve consciousness of the beauty of your surroundings.  I suspect that each of us may have to find the path to peace that suits us.  Finding this path is part of our journey. 

I’ve seen those who find the path to peace by sitting quietly and focusing on being in the present and being aware of your present surroundings.  I tried this approach.  It is peaceful.  I can hear the quiet.  It is very quiet where I live.  The only thing I can hear is the refrigerator running.  Why is the refrigerator running?  It runs constantly.  Is it dying?  Is it keeping the meat frozen enough?  I really need to buy a refrigerator thermometer.   Do I have the money to buy a thermometer?  I am now in a state of hyper anxiety over whether or not the refrigerator is going to die soon and how am I going to pay for a new one.  (The refrigerator is dying-huge anxiety.)  Deep meditation doesn’t work for everybody. 

Some people run.  Running is very good.  It stimulates the good neuro-transmitters and gets the blood flowing through the body.  For an older woman running may cause her to pee her pants and yes the doctor knows about this problem and says, “with your back you shouldn’t be running anyway.”  Running isn’t for everybody, but if you find peace when you run, go for it.

Some people find peace in prayer.  Prayer can be a bit like meditation.  The opportunity exists to touch the infinite and find peace in the knowledge that human dramas are insignificant in the face of infinite power and love.  Then again we may find ourselves ranting, “How long oh Lord…?”

For me, I can find peace in writing about the lives of the characters in my head.  I slip into the zone and become totally engrossed in Jake’s world where the problems are just as big and horrid as the problems in my world.  Yet, in Jake’s world, I find community among those who work for justice.  I find the tender love between a man and woman that makes the world “go away for awhile.”  I find the love of a parent for his children.  I find those who love truth, mercy and justice.  I see my own world from a different perspective.

When I write about the big picture I get in touch with the details of life that give life richness, depth, and a tapestry of adventure and peace.  When I write I again focus on the importance of the fact that an adolescent boy has a new girlfriend, that an older woman grew a magnificent squash, that a child’s soccer team won their first game-ever!!! 

Once in touch with the reality of the big picture and the details that tell me life is beautiful and people are beautiful, I can get up and tell a frustrated mother that she’s okay.  I can explain, yet again, what Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is and why no level of alcohol exposure during pregnancy is safe.  I can encourage my fellow organic gardeners and prepare to fight for GMO labeling in my state.  I can offer alternatives to education plans that don’t work.   I can write to my representatives in Washington DC and express myself clearly without calling them names.  As Mr. Wu, Jake’s martial arts master says, “First you must conquer your fear and your anger, then you can learn to fight.” (M’TK Sewer Rat:  End of an Empire.)

Peace be with you.