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Foie Gras, Soda, Farm Bill, Cottage Food Act: How You Voted

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That tiny little national health care something-or-other law that everyone on Facebook has an opinion about isn't the only piece of legislature worth noting today, especially if you live in California. Last night, the state's Senate Health Committee unanimously passed the Homemade Food Act (the so-called Cottage Food Bill) out of their glorious and no-doubt well sanitized chambers. If I know my legal system -- and please don't consider this an admission that I completely do -- the bill will now find its way into the Senate to get voted upon. It already passed the House last month.

To, once again, go through the pros of the bill, it will create:

- A source of income to local residents
- A specific knowledge where your food is coming from
- The satisfaction of not giving money to corporations
- General community-building

The negatives can pretty much be summed up in the following sentence, which should be read aloud in an annoying second-grader's voice: "Well, if we allow this then we have to actually work to find a way to implement these rules. Huff."

Looking at the two sides of that scale, it's certainly not surprising the bill's quickly passing through. And equally, it wasn't shocking when we asked you to voice your opinion on a poll about the bill a few weeks back that you voted overwhelmingly for it to pass, with nearly 87% giving it the virtual thumbs-up.

The bill's continual progress got me thinking about said polls. At the end of every one of these pieces tracking the current food climate, we allow you, the treasured reader, to voice your opinion. So I thought it'd be worthwhile to check in on some of the polls that I've put up over the last month:

- When I asked L.A. to take on New York's controversial large soda ban, asking if we should take a cue from their playbook and bring the ban to the West Coast, the votes were near-unanimous in their "Leave our sodas alone!" stance. In nearly 500 votes cast, over 92% said L.A. should be allowed to stick as much disgusting soda as we want into our bodies, thankyouverymuch!

- Most folks seem to be fine and dandy with this year's version of the National Farm Bill. Although, to be fair, the number of votes hasn't really reached that "satisfyingly statistically accurate" total just yet. So head on over and vote some more!

- Continuing an anti-Big Brother trend seen in the large soda ban hypothetical, most voters are alright with allowing foie gras to remain in the marketplace un-banned, choosing the "people should be free to eat what they want" option. Which begs the question: Is cannibalism acceptable to you people? (Don't really answer that.)

So, there you have it. If you forgot to vote, or didn't happen to check the KCET Food Blog on certain poll-tastic days over the past month, then scroll down to the polls themselves and let your voice be heard!

Photo from Flickr user Vox Efx.

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