Life Changing
How did this happen? I watched a film called Food Inc. Every American should watch this film. It is not a judgmental movie. It is not trying to push a point of view or an agenda. The whole goal of the film is to explain where our food comes from and what we are eating. It seems such a simple question, I thought it was one I could easily answer. In truth, it was not. It didn't transform me into a vegan or a vegetarian. I didn't stop using deodorant or grow my hair long. It didn't send me to the red neck wonderland to equip myself for the hunt. It did however make me think. Anything in life that makes us think can't be that bad.
In America we market to the world. We sell our products, our images and our brands. We are arguably some of the most effective on the planet in this task. We are so effective we have convinced ourselves we are something we are not. For all my life the family farm was presented as an icon of American life. Aunt Margret's Farm. It was the wholesome center of our existence. It represented independence and the foundation of who we are as a people. Unfortunately in today's world, this is largely an illusion. Every year we as a society pay billions in farm supports that end up not supporting the family farm, they support major agricultural companies that now control farming in America. It is as vacant as the estate tax. Sold as the enemy of the family farm yet it truth the enemy of the richest among us.
What is left of the family farm is largely now a slave to the control of five major food producers in America and one company, Monsanto. Variety in the supermarket is an illusion. Eighty percent of what you see came from one of these companies. Just think of this. Two crops are the foundation of a large majority of what we eat, corn and soy. Monsanto has genetically engineered the seeds to be some of the most productive and disease resistant in the world. It sounds remarkable and it is. There is just one problem, Monsanto owns the seeds. What does that mean? It means a farmer has to buy new seed from Monsanto every time he grows a crop. The tried and true method that has sustained humanity since our agricultural beginnings of harvesting seed for the next planting is dead. What happens if a farmer does it anyway? Monsanto will pursue a farmer in court and put them out of business. What if they just don't use the modified seed? The major food producing corporations in America won't buy their crops. Not even the drug companies maintain a patent longer than ten years. Essentially this is the equivalent of a company owning our water.
Before food was centralized farms took their pigs and cattle to local markets. The food we ate, while limited by the seasons, was grown near us and fresh. Today it is pre-packaged and gassed for freshness. Factory farming produces the vast majority of meat and poultry. Animals are engineered to be the most efficient products. It is an amazing process but at what cost? Wasn't a cow supposed to eat grass and know sunlight? Shouldn't a chicken see the out doors and be able to walk? What are we buying? Better yet, what are we eating?
A small hog factory operation produces more waste then a city of 70,000 people! This is waste they live in as their is almost no movement in their lives.
The story is complex and fascinating. I have not become a vegetarian but I am going to do my best to eat more locally grown food. When I can affored it, I buy organic and maybe try to eat more veggies and less meat. Please watch this movie, I have a feeling if you do, it will change your life as well.
Well spoken. My concern also, is what affect are the genetically engineered plants and animals on the people? What new diseases or illness are going to come from this? smmm
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