Non Serviem

In the course of my campus wanderings I encountered a young lady wearing a sandwich-board sign with a picture on which was drawn a pineapple drawn in magic marker. She had a clipboard and a pad of paper with the words 'WHOLE FOODS' at the top. She asked me if I would like to sign a petition to get organic and non-genetically modified foods labeled as such.

Organic foods actually are labeled, but the criteria is questionable, so I assumed that's what she meant. As far as GMOs are concerned, there is actually government pressure not to label, and personally I would like to see that change. My reason for this is primarily that I believe consumer knowledge to be one of the basic elements of a healthy market economy. I am quite comfortable with some of the genetic modifications about which I've read, and I'm quite wary of others, and I'd like the chance to speak with my wallet. Still, I like to know what it is on which I'm putting my signature.

"Who or what are 'Whole Foods?'" I asked.

She replied that it's just another name for organic, non-engineered foods, and she started telling me some basic propaganda that I've long known, so I jumped in and asked her who she was petitioning.

She responded, "Whole Foods."

Confused, I asked if that was some sort of food wholesaler, and she started repeating her definition. So I asked who it was that would be receiving the signatures.

She paused and said, "that's a good question."

I walked away without signing telling her, "I'll be coming back this way later," but she was gone when I returned.