Okay, the election was more than a week ago so I think I have recovered sufficiently to talk about politics. I used to keep myself reasonably well-informed about the political scene, but for the past few years I’ve been a little out of the loop. Hey, I was busy giving birth and stuff like that. So this year I vowed to try to catch up and become more informed and politically active.
I researched the local candidates and issues. I’ve written my congresspeople on issues that concerned me. I donated to a few favorite causes. I voted. (Unfortunately, my vote seems to have been mostly in vain since almost none of the candidates I voted for actually won their elections.) And I’ve found the perfect political venue for the time-crunched parent, where doing nothing is the same as doing something: I boycott.
Things I am currently boycotting:
Beef. Just can’t justify the ecological impact of beef-raising, the health risks associated with it (e. coli, anyone?), the conditions for workers in slaughterhouses, and the weasely policies of the major meat-packing companies dealing with meat recalls.
Anything produced or owned by ConAgra Foods. They are a major food conglomerate that was involved in the largest meat recall in U.S. history last summer. I don't trust 'em. Since I’d already given up beef, I’ve also given up all of their other products – including Rosarita, Healthy Choice, Butterball and Bumble Bee.
Nestlé. This is a holdover from my breastfeeding days. Nestlé has allegedly violated the W.H.O. code for baby formula marketing practices. I try to avoid all of Nestlé’s brands in the U.S. I’ve kind of fallen off the wagon on this one, since I wasn’t paying attention and bought Butterfinger, Baby Ruth and SweetTarts for Halloween candy.
Genetically modified foods. This is a toughie because it’s very hard to tell what’s a GMO and what’s not. I don’t think the GMO’s are necessarily going to make me sick, but I don’t think there has been nearly enough research done on their effects on the environment, or humans for that matter. There’s lots of anti-GMO stuff out there on the web, but here's a balanced overview.
Any fish that is overfished or endangered. No more Chilean sea bass for me.
Merchandise based on cartoon characters. I’m not wholly consistent on this one, since the kids have wheedled me into a Batman or Dora the Explorer here or there, but in general I try to avoid it.
Folding laundry. Okay, maybe this is not a boycott, more like a studious avoidance.
Any clothing with a name brand label prominently featured (Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, Nike, etc.) Sweatshop issues aside, why should I pay them for the privilege of using my body, or my childrens’ bodies, as advertising space? They pay good money for advertising space! They should pay ME to wear their clothes.
United Airlines. One too many bad experiences (rudeness from flight attendants and customer service reps, a dispute over an infant ticket for an overseas flight). When possible, I fly Frontier Airlines for flights in the U.S.; I’d rather support a Denver-based upstart who’s trying to give the big guys a run for their money.
Iberia Airlines. They are even ruder than United, if that’s possible. We do sometimes have to fly them to get to my in-laws’ house in Spain, but we won’t ever fly them transatlantic again. They allow no electronic devices to be used at any time during flight. That means no battery-powered games for the kids, no MP3 players or PDA’s for the adults, and worst of all, no portable DVD players. The portable DVD player is our most valuable tool for entertaining our kids on long flights.
Anyway, if I can’t spend my time going to anti-war rallies (had promised to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese that day, the horror) or stumping for candidates, at least I can do something (even if chiefly consists in not doing something). The only downside is that is sometimes it takes me a long, long time to do my grocery shopping because I keep having to look at the fine print on the cans and labels. Ro-Tel tomatoes? Dang, owned by ConAgra. Ortega taco shells? Nestlé. Is that tuna trolled, or is it purse-seine caught? I need to come up with a handy masterlist of all my boycott items to keep on my PDA.
I don’t kid myself that my little boycotts are having much of an effect. But hey, it makes me feel better when I put that can of Libby’s Pumpkin back on the shelf.
2:54:10 PM 
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