Yummy Superbowl non-GMO treat

From the Heartland, Margot McMillen writes: All over the neighborhood, people are watching the Superbowl, including us. WE’re waiting to see the commercial with the little filly from Missouri, sponsored by Budweiser. Besides the Clydesdale farm, there are other reasons to be proud of Budweiser (now owned by a company from Germany, I believe.) A few years ago, Budweiser faced down a biotech company that wanted to corrupt the rice supply coming from our state. As a locavore, I depend on that rice supply. So, when biotech announced they were going to plant GMO rice near what we consider good rice, we worried. Fortunately, Budweiser’s threat to stop buying Missouri rice, a prime ingredient for their beer, was enough threat to turn the story around. Pretty interesting to watch a Superbowl. Known for their commercials, we could just count the GMO ingredients. Doritos, probably. Soda pop, most certainly. There’s debate on whether GMOs are really bad to eat. Soaring cancer rates, diabetes, autism are coincidental epidemics, but we need feeding tests to see if GMOs are causative. We’ll never get the tests as long as the biotech companies own all the seed and refuse to let scientists test them. One test showed that rats got tumors and their blood actually changed when they ate GMOs. The corporates refuted, saying the scientists had used the wrong kind of rats, fed them too much, didn’t have enough rats in the control group. So what’s the answer for us consumers? Give up GMOs. Buy organic. Look for the non-GMO label. Get to know a farmer and tell him/her what you want. It’s really not more expensive if you look at the cost of the alternatives. Here’s my favorite non-GMO (so far) superbowl winter finger food: ROASTED VEGETABLES Brussel sprouts, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, sweet potatoes in bite-size chunks, about 1 inch by ½ inch. Olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay the vegetables out on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put in the over and turn on to 350 degrees. They can be in the oven while it pre-heats. After about 10 minutes, stir to coat with oil and seasonings and return to oven. After 10 more minutes, stir again. After 10 more minutes, poke with a fork to determine tenderness. They’ll probably be ready. I like them to be slightly browned, so you might want to finish under the broiler for 3 minutes. Serve with toothpicks to spear them and eat these veggies plain, or with a dip like mustard, ranch dressing or barbecue sauce. If you must have meat, you can put chunks of bratwurst or other sausages on the baking sheet and cook them at the same time.