We began Vermont Mystic Pie to bring great tasting food from local sources into the homes of people who don't have the time or inclination to bake at home. To the extent possible we select local producers and suppliers whose growing methods and business models build the environmental health of the land. In so doing we pay a premium and thereby hope to stimulate the economic health of rural communities.

The economic health of our country is, we believe, dependant on making sure that all our citizens get a piece of the pie. That means access to such basics as education, health care and environmental safety. Many believe, including us, that shifting a small percentage of how our taxes are spent from pentagon spending can accomplish this while maintaining a strong national defense, a goal that we also believe in. There is enough pie to go around if the size of the slices are changed.

To this end we support the national organization which is the leader in promoting this shift, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities (www.sensiblepriorities.org). Through their project, True Majority, an online grass roots citizen advocacy organization with 500,000 members, people are encouraged to come together to influence Congress on issues of social needs; environmental health and matters of mutual interest.

When Americans see how congress is spending our money, many of them want to shift money around to do the following:

- rebuild our public schools,
- retrain laid off workers,
- begin national debt reduction,
- provide health care and Head Start for every child in our country who needs it,
- feed every starving child in the world's poorest nations and,
- decrease our dependence on foreign oil at no additional taxpayer expense by reducing funding for nuclear and other obsolete cold war weapons.

Other Americans believe we should keep the budget the way it is. What do you think? Whatever your viewpoint is, please speak up and be heard to your elected officials and your community. You can go to www.truemajority.com to learn more and register your opinion as well. Healthy dialogue on critical and complex issues enables better choices and makes us all stronger as members of a national and global community.

Business Leaders for sensible Priorities and True Majority were both started by Ben Cohen (co-founder of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream). Ben is a dear friend and close advisor to Vermont Mystic Pie and he was a co-conspirator in the creation of the initial concept of the pie company.