A new election is underway. There are no feuding political parties or town hall debates, no perfectly practiced candidates trying to garner support on the campaign trail. Voters will not cast their decisions by going to a voting booth or marking a ballot.

The election taking place starts in neighborhood grocery stores and local farmers markets. The 2009 film documentary “Food, Inc.” persuades American citizens to demand safe, nutritious food that is properly labeled so consumers are able to make informed purchases. One way consumers can influence change is similar to any other election: vote.

“Food, Inc.” exhibits how far removed the average U.S. citizen is from the production of their food supply, illustrating the foods that fill the shelves in most grocery stores. While a small percentage of Americans plant or grow their own food, the rest are relying on the supermarket or nearby fast food restaurants. The food we get today is ready-to-eat and processed, resembling food but made mostly from human ingenuity.

After years of eating fresh and mostly unprocessed food, I don’t condemn other diets that might appear to be less nutritious. I realize everyone’s diet is an individual practice of what works best with their schedule and bodies. Despite that fact I do believe that we, as a U.S. population, have been living in ignorance about the food we eat, where it comes from and what it does to our body.

One natural farmer in the film complains that we want to pay the cheapest price for food but don’t realize that it comes with a price. Which consumer wants to buy the cheapest car?

Dollar menus and value meals are now on every fast food menu since the decline of the economy, but what is the real cost to consumers? Are we willing to give up substance and safe food in exchange for an extra buck?

The question lies in who to blame. Personal responsibility is one factor since people have the freedom and choice to decide what to eat. On the other hand, price might be the biggest culprit to skewing how Americans eat.

The price tag on my weekly grocery bill is nothing to boast about since eating fresh is not cheap. In the film Michael Pollan, food journalist and author, pointed out that most people on a fixed budget are going to purchase what will fill them up as opposed to what is better for them. Our food system has been skewed, Pollan said, to make bad calories more affordable and accessible than nutritious calories.

The proof lies in the numbers. Obesity rates are higher today than in any other time in our nation’s history. According to an article in USA Today published in January, about 34 percent of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese. The trend is similar in U.S. children, with about 30 percent overweight or obese. Our food system is creating a vicious cycle of people eating more, spending less and loaning out their health.

My family is an exemplary portrait of a typical American family dealing with obesity and the toll it has on the person both emotionally and physically. In the highly innovative and informational world we live in today it baffles me that a head of lettuce is more expensive than a fast food double cheeseburger.

I am campaigning for each person to cast their vote by what they purchase at the grocery store. It’s unrealistic to imagine that everyone will be able to afford all fresh and organic food, but I petition to purchase a few items that will show the corporations in charge of our food supply that we’re ravenous for better food and affordable prices.

Whether anyone is as moved by “Food, Inc.” as I was is a personal judgment, but the underlying message rings true: everyone has a right to healthy food.