Not Happy

When the Corn Grower's Association began petitioning the FDA to have the name of the sweetener changed into something more "pleasant" and "natural sounding", it raised alarm among many people. My family were advocates of cutting the sweetener out of diets, so this led me to research the issue. What I soon realized was that this was not just limited to corn syrup itself, but to all edible products used in food production that needed a clear label.  

So, basically my lobbying issue became something more along the lines of "make labels in food more honest and clear", also known as label transparency. There were a couple things I did to garner more interest in my issue. The first step was email my representative, which I did and received no reply. After waiting and continuing to do the other portions of the lobbying project, I realized I needed to be more vocal about my issue. 


So, my next step will be to create an awareness campaign. My partner and are creating physical and plan on posting them in public places, (once the snow lets up a little, that is) possibly encouraging use of companies like NeutriSleuth, if only to garner awareness to the issue and attempt to cause the general public to realize there even is a problem, because it is something that can be very easily overlooked. 

By Alex McGrorty and Matt O'Toole

The bureaucratic task my partner and I chose was the process of filing a Restraining Order, or a Protection from Abuse Order.

The process is fairly straightforward, if somewhat tedious. Basically, to file one of these orders, a person has to go to their local county Court of Common Pleas. Upon arriving there and finding the area where a restraining order can be made, there will be several court forms to fill out, such as the Application for Relief from Abuse, the Affidavit for Relief from Abuse and the Request for Nondisclosure of Location. These each respectively give different aspects of the problem.

The Application for Relief from Abuse is a form where the plaintiff (the victim or person filing the order) writes their basic personal information, such as name, address and contact information.

The Affidavit for Relief from Abuse is a form where the plaintiff details what happened to them or what abuse they suffered to make them file the order.

The Request for Nondisclosure of Location is a form the plaintiff will fill out to keep their location classified, so that their abuser cannot access the information. The victim’s location and contact information will have to be on file in this process, and the file is able to accessed by the public, therefore this document is a safety measure to keep the defendant from being able to access it themselves.

These documents should be given to a court clerk, who will present the case to a judge. There will be a hearing regarding the issue, and if the judge decides the case to be legitimate, they can have the order served. However, this will be temporary and only last until the secondary hearing, which will take place after 14 days.

After the 14 day (2 week) period of deliberation, the plaintiff will be summoned to another hearing, where the judge will determine whether the order needs to last another 180 days.  Any evidence or witnesses should be present during this hearing (there is additional documents and forms to be filled out if there is a witness involved).

If the order is given, the plaintiff must have it served by a State Marshall. The State Marshall will deliver the order to the offender (abuser) and order them to obey the limitations of the order. All involved should obey the restraining order, if there is any unlawful contact between parties, the police should be involved immediately.

If there was one thing we could change, I suppose it would be to lessen the 14-day waiting period. Or possibly eliminate the secondary hearing entirely. While I understand this is a period of deliberation by the court officials, if a person is in serious danger and felt threatened enough to file a restraining/protection from abuse order in the first place, then they should be helped immediately and not have to wait so long.

We believe systems have become more complicated because times have changed. We still use archaic bureaucratic methods, even in the face of modern technology and changing times. We possess the technology that could make the process simpler and more straightforward to meet modern needs. 

Flowchart View Link: http://www.lucidchart.com/documents/view/4d08cde6-8c50-4085-a6b3-1e830af90ae1

 PDF Download Link: http://www.lucidchart.com/publicSegments/view/4d0a2ba5-3d7c-4a7a-8e2f-66ee0afcbe04

I figured that for this portion of my lobbying process, a direct contact would be most useful.

I went online and looked up the contact information for my representative, Chaka Fattah. 

I called his office and left a message with my contact information, hoping that I would get a reply.

I also looked up his email and sent an email introducing the issue I'm lobbying for.

"Hello,My name is Alexandra McGrorty, I am a Philadelphia high school student attending Science Leadership Academy and a constituent of Pennsylvania’s Second Congressional District. I am contacting you because in my American Government class, I am lobbying an issue that I feel is important. I am trying to garner more support and political backing for my topic, and since you are my Congressional Representative, it seemed logical to contact you.

In the media recently, there has been a lot of attention about the Corn Grower's Association petitioning to have the name "Corn Syrup" changed to "Corn Sugar". While this is seen, by many, as not being much of an issue at all, I find it incredibly wrong. I am lobbying for transparency in food labels. I believe that, as consumers, every citizen should be informed of exactly what they are ingesting, and all products should be clearly labeled. Nothing should be changed, especially not for aesthetic's sake, like in the case of corn syrup. Making products sound healthier without attempting to actually make them healthier just sounds like a lie to me. And I believe that we should be concerned with the health of this city, especially.

According to Temple University's Head Chair of Podiatric Medicine and Orthopedics Kathya Zinszer, “Philadelphia’s rate of diabetes is five times higher than the national average,yet diabetes is one of the least understood chronic diseases." This, along with the obesity rate, are reaching epidemic proportions. If consumers are more well informed as to what exactly they are ingesting, it could act as a preventative measure to stop this serious issue. It could also help reversal efforts. However, if consumers are blindsided and uninformed, it will only make issues even worse. This is why I would like to have your support with this issue.

Thank you for your consideration,

Alexandra McGrorty

Science Leadership Academy "

I'm still waiting for replies from both of these contacts, and I hope that I can get some much needed attention as far as labeling transparency and the FDA regulations, because they directly effect my life and the people in this city.