Opinion/Streetalk

ThiS ModeRn WoRld by tom tomorrow

Are there mysteries in your life?

Asked at Wingfield Park

Ana Amado

Salesperson Yes. A lot. A lot of people think that I’m always a happy person, but deep down there’s a lot of sadness. My exhusband took my daughter away, and now I don’t know where my daughter is. It’s a mystery. I’ve been through a lot at such a young age, and people don’t see that.

Chris Smith

Sales Manager I think there’s mysteries in everyone’s life. What is? Where is? Who is? Why? What? Why are we here? Who are you? Who am I? Even though you may know your name, you may not really know who you are. There’s a lot of that going on.

The march toward truth in labeling begins

We live in a time of wonders. People can access all the knowledge of human existence through devices they carry in their front pockets. Scientists are cracking the genetic code of life. We are unlocking the mysterious building blocks of the universe. We are slowly bestowing equal rights upon all people on Earth.

But social and scientific change are slow, while greed moves like lightning. This past weekend, 350 people in Reno gathered to ask for something pretty simple of those who regulate greed: to know what they are eating.

While some countries around the world have chosen to make genetically modified organisms illegal, these concerned Americans asked that foods containing GMOs be labeled. Whether we consume unnatural foods is a choice we all should be able to make for ourselves.

Modern food science has changed. Things that were formerly considered “common sense” have been put to the test and found to be untrue. Not just untrue but wrong, yet companies that rake in the profits continue to promote their false arguments, enough to confuse the issue—sort of like the global warming deniers of the 20th century.

On the other side of the argument are individuals who make unsubstantiated claims. They’re loud enough to confuse the issue and undermine their own arguments.

But again, science ebbs and flows and advances. Sometimes items, like eggs, that were considered tantamount to poison have been found to be wholesome. At the same time, staples that contain processed sugars and grains have been shown to increase diabetes, Celiac disease and obesity.

Add into this the Darwinian aspect that people who were able to eat different types of foods in times of famine were more likely to survive, which explains why the progeny of certain regions of humans can tolerate dairy products better than others. But some scientists insist that all foods that were developed since the agricultural revolution be eschewed.

Simply put, just because a human being can put something in his or her mouth and excrete it out the other end does not mean it’s nutritious.

But greed gets in the way of science. The only reason tomatoes and almost all other vegetables were modified through selective breeding was to increase growers’ profits. Few people would argue that the cauliflower that grows in the wild isn’t wholesome—except for the fact it doesn’t exist and never has.

It’s become almost a cliche in this culture that people who don’t have something to hide, don’t need to hide. That’s repugnant to people who consider the right to privacy a human right. How much more repugnant is it for people who choose not to be violated by unnatural substances not to have the choice?

In terms of man’s time on Earth, GMOs have been part of the food chain for a time equivalent to a gnat’s exhalation. Foods that have been unnaturally combined at a genetic level in laboratories should be labeled as we simply cannot know what their long-term affects are on people, animals or the environment. This labeling will have consequences—likely cheaper prices for GMOs and an increased market share for organics.

We don’t imagine that we’ll see state laws requiring labeling in Nevada in the next two years, and it’s hard to pin hopes on our dysfunctional Congress, but knowing what we’re eating is a basic human right. Scientific and social change may come slowly, but in this age of wonders, they seem inevitable. Ω Alonzo Mccune

Retired underground miner Not really. I’ve got it pretty figured out. I settled down a long time ago, and I’ve lived my life open. That’s why. I don’t lie. I’ve never lied to my children, and I don’t lie to my wife.

Dina Miller

Caregiver My main mystery would be where God wants me to be the second half of my life occupation-wise and what he wants me to do. That’s the main thing that I’m still trying to figure out.

Justin Cole

Food server Plenty of mysteries. I kind of leave those up to the Lord to help me figure those out. The mystery of how much longer we have here, how many people actually feel compassion for one another. It’s not so much why we’re here anymore, but what we can do while we’re here to make this life the best it can be.