We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, July 9, 2010

Happy Meal Feud Heats Up

from Los Angeles Times. Corporate strategy in the pursuit of profits undermines parent's control over what their children eat.
Center for Science in the Public Interest's litigation director, Stephen Gardner, said he hoped McDonald's would negotiate an end to the practice of using toys to market unhealthful foods to children.