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Natural Awakenings Dallas -Fort Worth Metroplex Edition

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July 2013 Publisher Letter

Oh, how I love summer! I’m convinced it’s because it vividly takes me back to the best carefree, fun-filled days of youth. When school was out, the most important decisions I had to make were what I was going to do that day and which friends and relatives I would hang out with. 

Summer vacation also brought our family’s annual out-of-town visit with my grandparents and assorted relatives. Every morning I dashed out the door for a morning stroll around my grandparents’ expansive garden. I had my choice of four varieties of peaches and lush plums right off the tree, as well as my pick of ripe, black grapes, figs and blackberries.

The watermelons were less accessible and we had strict instructions not to bother them. So, as you can imagine, strategizing and executing the perfect scheme to sequester a luscious melon big enough to feed my brother, our two best friends and myself became an annual rite of passage. Even though my grandfather always found out, we could never bring ourselves to sacrifice this summer ritual.

Remember when the health of our food wasn’t a concern? Today, when I bite into a peach or an ear of corn I wonder if it’s from a genetically modified crop (GMO) and what the long-term health and environmental ramifications will be. Without even the safeguard of legislation requiring the labeling of GMO products, we are stripped of our right to choose. In this month’s feature article, “Six Ways to Eat Safe,” Melinda Hemmelgarn highlights what we need to watch out for.

In our family, I choose organic, pesticide-free, GMO-free food as much as I can. Fortunately for everyone in the DFW Metroplex, we are surrounded by working farms and have access to such an abundance of local, natural and organic foods that we are blessed with this fresh, nutritious food at affordable prices. In our local feature article, Kim Rice talks with North Texas food and farming guru Brian Cummings about how eating local products can help ensure family food safety.

As we celebrate America’s Independence Day this month, we still have many rights to fight for, ranging from a healthy natural food supply to the health of ecosystems that sustain life on Earth. It’s important that we immediately and continually lobby our legislators to pass a bill requiring the labeling of GMO foods before we lose total control to the dictates of big money that don’t have our best interests at heart. And let’s not forget or neglect vigilance for our pets and the effects of GMO food on their health. We hope the perspective of Dr. Nancy Bozeman, a local holistic veterinarian, will energize you to take thoughtful action on behalf of your pets, as well.

By now, our readers can’t help but know that healthy living is green and green living is healthy. As always, we hope that reading this issue of Natural Awakenings of the Dallas Metroplex leaves you feeling more educated and informed and moved to be a better steward of the health of your family and the environment. It’s all a magnificent creation given to us by a magnanimous God and worthy of our respect.  

Blessings,

Bernice Butler Natural Awakenings Dallas

Bernice Butler, Publisher