If you believe in the adage “you are what you eat”, we Americans could probably best be described as a cheap, drugged-out hooker . . . with a weight-problem. Sexy kinda.
If you’re looking for a great movie to watch this weekend, please, I beg you, let it be the now Oscar nominated Food, Inc. I’m a little late to the game I guess, but I just watched it recently and I have to say, it really made a very strong impact on me and I think it’s something every American should watch. Check out the trailer:
The film has been called the An Inconvenient Truth for food, and while I agree with that to an extent, there are lots of people who for one reason or another do not accept the science of pollution and climate change. Food, Inc. isn’t as “controversial” in the sense that there’s really absolutely no denying that our food industry in this country is completely out of control. You could say the same thing about climate change but . . . yeeeeeah.
I care about the environment and animals and health, but I’m not militant about these things; I go to the Farmers’ Market in the warmer months, I use the reusable shopping bags, I recycle, I try to buy organic and local, etc. just like many other people out there who want to do what we can but not if it means a whole lifestyle change. What I like about this movie is that it doesn’t preach about what’s irreversible or overwhelming or damning, but rather brings awareness to the root cause of our food problems and provides ideas on ways we can and why we really need to stop them.
You will be absolutely shocked by the way the food and farming industries work in this country; I myself had no idea and was flabbergasted. If you’re a Republican against big government and aren’t buying local, you are a hypocrite. If you’re a Democrat and want healthcare reform, you need to see our government’s hand in making and keeping us sick. It’s just another unbelievable example of big business and government sharing the same whoreish bed and spreading their raging case of herpes and god knows what else to us little people.
Then again at least with herpes you can be like those smiling, rock-climbing people in the Valtrex commercials and lead a relatively normal life; as far as I know there is presently no cure for moobs or worse yet, cancer.
Last week or so John went on a mini-tirade against President Obama, saying that he’s not doing enough, that we’re not where he promised we’d be. My argument was and really always has been the “well, what did you expect?” defense. I don’t and probably will never believe that the President has much power. A new President is like a renter of an old house: he can paint over that tacky 70s color with a Greek Isles blue, replace the American Colonial furniture with mid-century modern and add a sconce here and there, but he’s not permitted to remodel the kitchen or change anything structurally. America will ALWAYS give billions more dollars to bombs than books and put a quick buck before our health. What’s wrong with this country lies within our rotting foundation, the asbestos and mold and lead paint lurking where we can’t see them. It’s our fundamentals, and there isn’t anything more fundamental and basic than food. To me, Food, Inc. not only speaks about farming and food, it’s symbolic of our goals as a society.
If we all can do a small part by becoming more conscious of our choices, more aware and ethical consumers, companies will have to start listening. You see a bit of that in the film with more and more organics being found in Wal-Mart and “healthier” options for kids at fast-food restaurants. In my opinion, nothing is more important to our future than slowing down, going back to basics, and if you look at the astounding and alarming number of children developing Type II diabetes, you’ll understand why.
Please, please see the movie and then check out these guys:
Kon-Kiki 
I’m glad this movie had an strong impact on you, Kiki! I am really passionate about this subject and I think everyone needs to watch this because, like you said, people have no idea where their food is coming from or what it is they’re actually eating/giving to their children to eat. The part about the hamburger filler that I believe is in 70 (maybe 90, I can’t remember) percent of all of the hamburger meat in the country made me so happy to be a vegetarian! Meat free mondays is a great start but you should really consider becoming a vegetarian! You’ll feel so much better about yourself. Trust me! It feels so good knowing that I’m not contributing to the factory farm industries. I try to eat as little dairy as possible, too, but it is so hard when you’re in college because organizations give away free pizza ALL THE TIME..
It makes me so mad to know that big companies like Tyson and Purdue have so much control over the little farmers. And MONSANTO! ugh!! If you want to learn more about the devil that is Monsanto you should watch “The Future of Food”. I watched it in my environmental science class last year and it was really informative. You should also read Skinny Bitch, by Rory Freedman and some other chick. I went to see Rory speak because she came to UNCW and she has a lot to say and she is really blunt… now that I think about it, the way she writes kind of reminds me of your blogs, except with more cuss words. Anyway, I could go on but I think I’ve written enough.. If you check either of those things out, let me know!
Shannon! That’s so cool that you’re so passionate about this. I’m definitely going to check out “The Future of Food” and Skinny Bitch. I don’t know why I’ve ignored this subject for so long, but wow, it’s so important. I don’t eat much meat as it is, but I am conscious about finding out where restaurants & grocery stores get their products . . . now even more so.
hahahha shanny