Of course, we know there’s a growing movement for good, healthy, local food — it’s why we all love Local Harvest so much. But are there forces at work to “Make Sure We Have No Option But Factory Farmed Food”? And is the Democratic-led Congress helping them by pushing the National Animal ID System (NAIS)? Seems so according to this Daily Kos diary (by one of the people there that focuses on food issues).

As the author points out, there are many reasons to eat locally-grown food — food safety, the environment, health, etc. You may know that free-range eggs taste a lot better than chain grocery store eggs (the yellower the yolk, the better), but did you realize how much healthier they are?

1/3 less cholesterol
1/4 less saturated fat
2/3 more vitamin A
2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
3 times more vitamin E
7 times more beta carotene

If you want to keep eating those eggs from local farmers — and having easy access to them — you might want to weigh in on the NAIS debate with your US Congress Critter.

As an aside, the Union of Concerned Scientists recently released a study about genetically-engineered (GE) foods that knocks down one of the main arguments for GE foods — their supposedly higher yields. As it turns out, not so much.

Feel free to email me any questions or links to stories at planb247(at)gmail(dot)com.

- Brian DeSmet