This month Americans honor our freedoms and to all those who have made the hard sacrifices to keep our nation independent. I am grateful to live in this country, standing on the shoulders of the many generations responsible for building the sound foundations of this bold experiment in democracy. My Father, a WWII veteran, was one who believed that all free people had a responsibility to do their part and through his selfless ways taught me what it meant to be an American.

One of our citizens’ greatest privileges is freedom of choice. Making good choices in every arena of life takes wisdom, which is where Natural Awakenings comes in. Unfortunately, too many people have been poorly influenced by commercial entities that don’t have people’s best interests at heart when it comes to nutrition. While some, our readers among them, know how to eat healthy and do, others settle for processed foods, a major factor behind the unprecedented rise of obesity and associated diseases in this country.

I am among those that object to burdening people that do their best to take care of themselves with the healthcare costs of those that choose not to. It’s a big reason for the rise in the cost of health insurance and medical services. Millions know that there is a far better and less costly way to sustain health, starting with educating people to choose well.

Food Sleuth Melinda Hemmelgarn highlights the major keys to better food choices in our feature article, “Six Ways to Eat Safe.” The websites listed offer expert advice for making well-founded decisions about what goes into our own body and the mouths of those we care about. Such self-empowering choices not only feel right but taste good, too.

I often write about natural whole foods and people’s right to know the dangers of the engineered monocultures of giant agribusinesses riding roughshod over smaller and organic farmers. As a concerned citizen, publisher and patriot, I believe it’s my duty to raise the red flag on how such abuse, still unknown to most people, is affecting our own health, as well as future generations. I encourage everyone to learn more!

“You know that what you eat you are”—a famous line from the Beatles’ song “Savoy Truffle” in their 1968 White Album—is true. We rejoice that summer still brings an abundance of diverse healthy food choices at local farmers’ markets. In patronizing them we keep the rising eat local movement strong enough to preserve our choices. I know it is not always easy finding the best organic or GMO-free foods, but with an educated eye and an enquiring tongue we can procure the best options available. I will be doing my best, as well.

To savoring the best summer has to offer,

Don Moore, Publisher