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Hungry for Change

With a nod to the wonderful Nation magazine feature conceived by Walter Mosley, here's a list of ten simple things you can do to help change our food system for the better, drawn largely from the Hungry for Change campaign.

1. Stop drinking soda. (Great way to lose weight too.)2. Eat at home more than you eat out. (Save money; eat healthier.)3. Support the passage of laws requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards. (Knowledge is power.)4. Help get schools to stop selling junk food. (Our tastes start young.)5. Go without meat at least one day each week -- Meatless Mondays? (Single best way to help the environment is to become a vegetarian.) 6. Buy organic and/or sustainable foods without pesticides. (Chemicals kill.)7. Support family farms by shopping at farmer's markets and CSAs. (Take market share away from the corporate sector.)8. Know where your food comes from. Read labels! (Knowledge is power #2.)9. Tell Congress that food safety is critical. (Regulations need to be expanded.)10. Demand job protections for workers along each point of the food processing chain. (Labor rights are a critical part of food safety.)

I know I've missed lots of stuff. Add your own ideas in the comments field below.

Peter Rothberg

July 13, 2009

With a nod to the wonderful Nation magazine feature conceived by Walter Mosley, here’s a list of ten simple things you can do to help change our food system for the better, drawn largely from the Hungry for Change campaign.

1. Stop drinking soda. (Great way to lose weight too.)2. Eat at home more than you eat out. (Save money; eat healthier.)3. Support the passage of laws requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards. (Knowledge is power.)4. Help get schools to stop selling junk food. (Our tastes start young.)5. Go without meat at least one day each week — Meatless Mondays? (Single best way to help the environment is to become a vegetarian.) 6. Buy organic and/or sustainable foods without pesticides. (Chemicals kill.)7. Support family farms by shopping at farmer’s markets and CSAs. (Take market share away from the corporate sector.)8. Know where your food comes from. Read labels! (Knowledge is power #2.)9. Tell Congress that food safety is critical. (Regulations need to be expanded.)10. Demand job protections for workers along each point of the food processing chain. (Labor rights are a critical part of food safety.)

I know I’ve missed lots of stuff. Add your own ideas in the comments field below.

PS: If you have extra time on your hands and want to follow me on Twitter — a micro-blog — click here. You’ll find (slightly) more personal posts, basketball and breaking news and lots of links.

Peter RothbergTwitterPeter Rothberg is the The Nation’s associate publisher.


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