“We have been robbed of our own food and the simplicity, nutrition, flavor and enjoyment it is meant to bring us which is why I felt inspired to be a part of the March Against Monsanto yesterday here in Miami.”

Earlier today I was eating an apple…an organic apple of course. An organic apple that I had to pay twice as much for. My heart was heavy as I was trying to enjoy this apple. Something so simple. Something that should be part of the human existence on a daily basis, meant to be enjoyed and a reminder of our amazing planet and how it takes care of us with a wonderful little fruit such as an apple. An apple a day….. Then I thought of a story that I heard growing up about Adam and Eve. As you probably know, Eve took a bite out of an apple in that story and it made me think of what Eve thought of as she took a bite of that apple way back then versus what I was thinking about as I was taking a bite of my apple today.

There would be no similarities in our thoughts  because as I was taking a bite of my apple, I was thinking about the poverty and abuse endured by the farm worker that picked my apple. I thought about how I had to pay double so I could have an apple that didn’t come from a seed that was genetically modified and might give me cancer. I thought about all the farmers who are losing their farms because they can’t keep up with the demands of the corporate giants that are controlling them. I thought about all the bees that are being killed by these genetically modified seeds that are planted with pesticides already in them. I thought about the bugs and weeds that these pesticides are supposed to be killing that are becoming immune and are becoming more aggressive than they even were to begin with. I thought about how Monsanto is dominating the industry so strongly that farmers don’t have the option to get their seeds from anywhere else so therefore the varieties of seeds are shrinking and how many we’ve lost already..in fact we’ve lost at least 92 varieties  that we can never get back! I thought about how our vegetables are being manufactured just like a McDonald’s hamburger, meaning that no matter what grocery store you go to in the entire country, what is sold, how it looks and what it tastes like will be exactly the same because it’s made in a lab for mass production and mass distribution. I thought about how much work my little sister has to put in just to be able to cook her three kids a healthy meal that isn’t full of poison. I thought about how much is sucks that we are trying to educate people to not eat out and cook at home more but that’s not even good enough because of the contamination in our grocery stores.  I thought about how twisted and wrong it is that the companies responsible for all this AND our government are using the one thing we NEED in order to survive for profit.  I thought about how awful all of this is and how they are making it impossible to simply enjoy a meal. I thought how thankful I am to have discovered all of this so that I am no longer living in the dark and can make healthy choices for myself. I thought how many other people out there are just like me and will make the same changes I have. I thought how we have to otherwise the next generations will not even know what an organic apple tastes like.

This is a LOT to think about when simply enjoying an afternoon snack. We have been robbed of our own food and the simplicity, nutrition, flavor and enjoyment it is meant to bring us which is why I felt inspired to be a part of the March Against Monsanto yesterday here in Miami. Since all of this is new to me, I wanted to go because I wanted to see other faces whose eyes were opened like mine and I wanted it become real to me. Watching documentaries has been great but it still can seem like a movie. Yesterday was about bringing everything I’ve been learning into my reality and it was about taking a step to do something about it.

There were about 500 people in attendance which was more than I expected so that made me happy. The energy was great and  it was so nice to see so many others passionate about making positive changes in our world…especially the children. Changes are only going to happen if the demand for healthy food significantly increases and demand for fake food significantly decreases. We have to give these companies no choice which is why it is so important for those of us who are aware to share what we know. We need to tell everyone we encounter because no one wants to be poisoned and destroy our eco-system just to eat an apple. Not anyone I know! A big thank you to the organizers of the march…they did a great job! Let’s keep the momentum going and save our food! Check out the documentary GMO OMG to learn in depth about GMOs and Monsanto.

A big thank you for Ella and her lovely father, Steve for joining me and being a part of my first protest….love you guys!