1 Mother 2 Another

A couple days ago, Cora asked me why I
haven’t bought Pirate Booty recently; that and Veggie Booty
have been regular snack treats in our house, and it was a fair
question.


I explained to Cora that one of the main ingredients in Booty is
corn, and over 85% of corn in the USA is genetically modified.
I’d called Robert’s Snacks, combed their websites, sent
emails – and been told explicitly that yes, they use
genetically altered crops. And while our diet may not be 100%
GMO-free, it’s rather close, and that’s on purpose.


I’m not trying to get into a conversation on GMO foods here
– that’s a much longer post, believe me, and I’ve
made it a couple times. But this did lead us to a child-level
version of that conversation, and I spent a few painful minutes
talking through GMO crops and why we choose not to eat them with
the girls.

Both of them stared at me in disbelief.
“You mean scientists put the DNA of a scorpion into a
TOMATO?” they yelped. (Yes, it’s true. And
well-documented. How could I make that up?) But at the end of the
conversation, they understood where we were coming from, and I
tried hard to walk the line between explaining our position well
and trying not to come across as too judgmental of others who might
not move forward the way we do.


Why did I walk the line so gingerly, you ask? Because I just KNEW
that this next sentence was coming –


“But Lily eats Pirate Booty every day in lunch!” Cora
cried, distressed for her friend. Did this mean her parents just
don’t care?


Yeah, I could totally see that one a mile away.


So we spoke a bit more about how different families make different
choices, and these are the choices that are right for our family.
And Lily’s mommy loves her a lot and works hard to make good
choices for Lily’s lunch (which is true, I’ve seen her
lunches) so Lily will be just fine.


I thought we were finished with this subject. I don’t know
why I was so naïve.


Sure enough, Cora came home yesterday from school troubled.
“Mommy, I told Lily that people try to make corn out of corn
seeds and ladybugs and she thinks you’re just making up a
story. She knows you can’t combine animals and plants!”


Sorry, Lily’s mommy, for all the questions you got last
night.