Jim Hightower

Have you ever "disparaged" a food product?

C'mon, buster, I'm talking to you. Don't tell me you haven't badmouthed broccoli or ridiculed radishes in your time. You look like just the type who'd cast aspersions at asparagus, slander a steak or pooh-pooh prunes -- don't deny it, it's all over your face.

If you've ever thought about villifying a veggie, put it out of your head because [Dragnet theme] . . . it's against the law. Eleven states already have succumbed to the paranoia, greed and lobbying power of agribusiness and chemical giants that are pushing for passage of state and federal laws to stifle any criticism about the safety of our food supply.

Worried about pesticides on your family's food? Alarmed by genetically-altered food? Under their new laws, if you make a peep of protest about such industrial meddling with your edibles, the meddlers can unleash their legal departments to sue the squash out of you for (and I'm not making this up) "Food Disparagement." To avoid conviction and massive fines, you would have to "prove" in court that the altered, sprayed or radiated food was unsafe.

Indeed, you would be found guilty of disparagement ipso facto if the scientific establishment has already given its seal of approval to a product or process you criticized. Of course, since the scientific establishment is largely paid-by and shills-for industry, this is not going to leave anyone much legal room for criticizing any industrial tampering with our dinner. After all, this is the establishment that once claimed DDT to be so safe children could play in it and that Thalidomide was perfectly safe for pregnant women. Hello.

This is Jim Hightower saying . . . Now industry lobbyists are in Congress trying to make food disparagement a federal crime. To keep from gagging on these consumer gag laws, contact the Environmental Working Group: 202/667-6982.