Dear Premier and the Victorian Government,
We are writing to you today to call for a commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of all Victorians, and preventing avoidable causes of illness, through a continued investment in state-wide preventive health strategies in the 2015 state budget.
Obesity and ‘lost wellbeing’ from obesity are estimated to cost Australia around $58.2 billion a year1, and poor nutrition and high body mass have overtaken tobacco use as the greatest burden of disease in Australia. Nearly two thirds of Australian adults and one quarter of children are considered overweight or obese2. Yet only 6% of Australian adults eat the recommend amount of fruits and vegetables each day3, and more than one third of our daily energy intake comes from energy dense,...
Lifestyle
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Dear Ms Tolley
I was reading an article about your thoughts on why the number of food grants had gone down so much. I can assure you it was the new degrading reforms you put in place – I live this nightmare you created remember. I know what it is like to be so degraded by your processes that I want to kill myself every single day. The only reason I don’t is because I know that is what neo-liberals want – to get rid of those disabled and poor who are an expense a liability (faulty resources), especially those of us fighting for the health care and justice we are entitled to under ACC, health, disability, human rights and bill of rights laws.
It is obvious from your comments that you have absolutely no idea what people are going through so I request a meeting with you so I can...
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Dear Mr. President,
This letter is not written in a spirit of hate or disrespect. Nor is it motivated in any way by racial bias. It is written with respect due the office and the awesome tasks that have been laid on your shoulders.
I write this letter because I am a taxpaying American citizen who has experienced the American Dream and wants his children and grandchildren to have the same advantages and opportunities that I have had.
And no, Mr. President, I was not born into a one-percenter family. I come from a blue collar background. I never went to college. I have made a living doing manual labor, and I entered my chosen profession at ground level, worked hard and sacrificed to achieve success.
On April 13, 1967 I arrived in Nashville, Tennessee with a wife, a two-year-old...
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Dear Professor Folta:
Yesterday there was some news coverage and commentary about our use of the state Freedom of Information Acts to obtain the correspondence of professors who wrote for the agrichemical industry’s PR website, GMO Answers. We’re glad to have a public conversation about this topic with the professors involved. We believe that transparency and open dialogue are fundamental values by which we must operate in a democratic society and a truly free market. To that end, I thought it would be useful to explain why we FOIA.
Since 2012, the food and agrichemical industries have spent at least $103 million dollars on a massive PR and political campaign to deceive the public about genetically engineered foods. As the public relations firm Ketchum bragged in a recent video, “...
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Dear Paula Deen,
So it’s been a tough week for you… believe me you I know something about tough weeks being a beginning food writer and lowly culinary historian. Of course honey, I’d kill for one of your worst days as I could rest myself on the lanai, the veranda, the portico (okay that was really tongue in cheek), the porch..whatever…as long as its breezy and mosquito-free. First Food Network now Smithfield. (Well not so mad about Smithfield—not the most ethical place to shill for, eh, Paula?)
I am currently engaged in a project I began in 2011 called The Cooking Gene Project—my goal to examine family and food history as the descendant of Africans, Europeans and Native Americans—enslaved people and enslavers—from Africa to America and from Slavery to Freedom. You and I are both...
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Good Morning,
This is written for those who find truth in what authors like Michael Pollan or internet soap box occupants like the Food Babe have to say...
Sunday morning started with my face two inches from a cow's uterus for an hour and then some. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Anyone. We had a first calf heifer (a girl who'd never had a baby) who had a calf, and with the calf followed her uterus, as any time your innards are hanging out, its life threatening condition.
The fight for her life was both mentally and physically draining on us all. We were finally able to right the inside out parts by literally shoving them back where they belong and sewed her up. Her prognosis good, for now, and the calf is thriving, if you were wondering. It was a good day. Now the...
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Dearest Martha,
WHAT A WEEK! I was sorry to see the “buzz” about your food pics. For what it’s worth, my colleagues think your photos are post-modern masterpieces. And I concur.
The visual metaphors in your photographs are brilliant! The bold direct lighting representing the harsh spotlight of fame. The distorted colors representing the half-truths of public perception. The shadowy darkness where the true self hides. The soft, sloppy focus echoing the uncertainty of the human condition. It all blends together in a stark visual commentary on the dualistic nature of celebrity, presented as an unappetizing plate of food. Fame, like these contorted vittles, is hard to swallow.
You put the “art” in Martha, Martha. There is genius in your work.
But the internet is a cruel place....
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Hello Trader Joe’s,
I’ve been a loyal customer of Trader Joe’s for quite some time. As my eyes have been opened to the inexcusable toxins that have infiltrated our food supply, I have been more and more thankful to have an affordable store in which I can feel safer than I do in the mainstream grocery stores.
At first it was a Trader Joe’s employee who informed me that everything sold under the Trader Joe’s name brand did not contain genetically modified ingredients [GMOs], and that seemed like the best news ever, given the amount of stress involved in eschewing GMOs while keeping my family fed. I kept looking for something on the packages that might mention this, and was confused about why it wouldn’t be on the labels. I inquired about it at the front desk, and their response...
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Dear Jamie,
The Ontario Home Economics Association (OHEA) would like to thank you for using your passion, skills, knowledge and influence to fight for compulsory food education in schools around the world. Your Sign It, Share It campaign is generating outstanding attention and support and will help to escalate this global issue.
We completely agree that it is essential that we arm future generations with the life skills they urgently need in order to lead healthier, happier, more productive lives. We too are fighting for “compulsory food education in schools” in Ontario, Canada. Much like your effort, in July 2014, OHEA created an on-line petition to generate support for the cause.
OHEA is a group of diverse and passionate Professional Home Economists. Many OHEA members are...
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Dear Dog Food Companies,
We realize you are a business and have to make money in order to survive. But we wish you would realize you are feeding loved family members and not just “animals”.
Think about your two-legged family:
Would you feed your family members something with low-quality ingredients, some that are even harmful, because it was cheaper?
Would you feed your family members food if you didn’t know where it came from?
Would you feed your family members something full of chemicals and artificial colors when it could be made naturally?
Would you feed your family members food that is just full of fillers, with no nutritional value? (and then wonder why they are sick all the time?)
Would you not take precautions to make sure the food was safe, and not full of harmful...
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