Food, Inc.

[Katy]

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Im with Katy. Not gonna see it, dont plan to.
Until people stop eating, or we come up with a "Peace, Love and Kindly Vegetarian" serum for all mankind - I dont see how we can escape some degreee of industrialization in our food production.

I'm allright with it.

If we keep going the way we are, people are going to have to stop eating.
There won't be any land left capable of growing food.

Urban sprawl takes more acres out of production than poor farming practices by a long shot.

 

[Katy]

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I agree. Also, the cheap price of processed, non-local foods has a lot to do with what gets subsidized by our taxes. (There's info about government farm subsidies at http://farm.ewg.org/farm/index.php. The subsidies for corn, for example, which is used in just about every processed food (cereal, chips, soda, popsicles, etc.) and fed to "factory-farmed" meat animals, is here: http://farm.ewg.org/farm/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=corn.) If our tax money didn't help make processed foods so cheap, they wouldn't be as attractive to buyers. If this made buying "good" food prohibitively expensive for some, those same tax dollars could go toward subsidizing environmentally-friendly, healthy foods rather than junk, or could help needy families buy healthy, local food, creating a stronger market for it.

I've listed this before, but here is the break down on where our tax dollars that fund the farm bill go.

3%...rural development
6%....research, inspection, & administration
2%....International
11%...Conservation & forestry
19%.... Farm & commodity programs (these are the payments farmers get)
59%.... Food assistance

So as you can see the majority of the money doesn't even go to the farmers growing the food!! It goes for food stamps!!!! Personally I think the next time around they should call it the Food Stamp Bill...not the farm bill!!!

 

[Davaroo]

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Tell it!
Like I said: "Just converting our carefully tended lawns to food production, would drastically change the face of things."

 

[hikerchick]

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Tell it!
Like I said: "Just converting our carefully tended lawns to food production, would drastically change the face of things."

I agree with both of you.

I think that although we see things differently, we are on the same side.

 

[Wifezilla]

Urban sprawl takes more acres out of production than poor farming practices by a long shot

Well, one reason farms get broken up and sold, converting them in to housing developments, is taxes. I am from Wisconsin. Widows used to have to sell half the farm just to pay inheritance taxes if their husband died.​

 

[PotterWatch]

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Tell it!
Like I said: "Just converting our carefully tended lawns to food production, would drastically change the face of things."

I agree with both of you.

I think that although we see things differently, we are on the same side.

I agree, we are coming from different directions, but arriving at the same point.

 

[hikerchick]

I think what has to happen is for it to be profitable for farmers to farm using sustainable methods. A farmer has to be able to make a decent wage or we won't have anyone left to grow our food. Monsanto, aka the US government, has made it impossible for farmers to even begin to compete using sustainable methods.

It is a tragedy and we are all the victims.

 

[Lady Henevere]

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Is that what the movie is? (I haven't seen it, so I don't know what it's like.) The book is interesting so far, although I have only read three of the essays. I just finished the one by the CEO of Stonyfield Farms (a yogurt company), who talks about how it's okay to be a "big business" (Stonyfield is now owned by Danon) and work on an industrial level, as long as it's done sustainably. He also talks about how business has the power to effect change and make a difference. I thought it was an interesting perspective from someone who walks the line between big business and sustainable practices. As hikerchick said,
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As for converting our lawns to food...does it count that the chickens like to eat the grass?

 

[Davaroo]

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Is that what the movie is? (I haven't seen it, so I don't know what it's like.)

Of course, otherwise why bother?
No one goes to the trouble to write and make documentaries unless they are trying to sell a single minded point of view. It may be "well intended," it probably strikes an emotional chord and may even be seen as noble.
But bottom line is, someone wants to make a point. I would imagine there is also some profit to be made, somewhere along the line.
Meaning this is nothing new. The same points about sustainable agriculture and evil factory farming have have kept The Mother Earth News in print for over three decades...
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Well, it's a start. 12 sq ft of garden space and a few chickens will offset your carbon footprint on the planet every year.
Just think if each person did that. They would become their own little autocracy, solving the problem at their own level.

 

[Rillion]

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Is that what the movie is? (I haven't seen it, so I don't know what it's like.)

Of course, otherwise why bother?
No one goes to the trouble to write and make documentaries unless they are trying to sell a single minded point of view. It may be "well intended," it probably strikes an emotional chord and may even be seen as noble.
But bottom line is, someone wants to make a point. I would imagine there is also some profit to be made, somewhere along the line.
Meaning this is nothing new. The same points about sustainable agriculture and evil factory farming have have kept The Mother Earth News in print for over three decades...

Wow, a complete summary and condemnation of a movie you haven't actually seen. And that's the first time I've ever heard someone denounce the very idea of wanting to make a point about something. Maybe they have a good point, and you wouldn't even know.