A resident of the Village of Gilchrist has launched a petition drive aimed at reforming food industry procedures.
Pat Walkey went to her pantry recently to see the origin of the food items on her shelf. She had heard that some meat processors in the United States were shipping hogs to China for processing and then selling the processed meat as “Made in America” without disclosing the Chinese connection.
Her pantry inspection highlighted that the food labeling on other products was less than transparent as to where the products were produced. Walkey then called the companies to get information as to the country of origination for the products. Some companies responded with information, but others did not.
She had some discussions with Congressman Daniel Webster’s office and then decided to start a grassroots effort to change the food labeling laws to make them more transparent. She began to collect petition signatures from residents and in turn provided them with their senators’ and representatives’ contact information.
Walkey began collecting signatures Tuesday afternoon at the Gilchrist postal facility. She said she had collected a couple of hundred signatures in the first hours of her drive. Other Villagers have offered to help and will be collecting signatures at other postal stations.
Pat Walkey can be reached at walkeyteam@yahoo.com if you are interested in helping in the grassroots effort to clarify food labeling laws.
