Food, Inc.

[Davaroo]

Quote:
It is a great idea, and according to Rillions analysis, that may be the message that gets across. I certainly hope so. It hasn't yet to date, but I hpe so.
BYC'ers are a curiously independent lot, seeing where at least some of their food comes from. They are uniquely in a position to appreciate this.

The rest if the world? It's going the other way. Not to take this too political, but if we recall some other history - our current president admits that he believes government has the job to take care of things for the people, even it means controlling them. He said that back in his campaign, when he could still speak for himself.

And it isnt just there. we see an ever growing trend for government and its corporate minions to take control. We kicked out a 'cowboy' as president because we, as a nation, thought it is a bad thing to act on your own. We are increasingly keen to sue others and our greatest cry as a society is, "they oughta pass a law...." or "where's my check?"

I sincerely want people to grow large gardens, and I support a tax break for doing so. I would love it if more and more people had chickens and bought from local farmers. And you may indeed see more of that coming... there are signs that it is. As Ghandi said, all revolutionary movements begin with just a few motivated people.

But I dont see society, as a whole, going that way. What I see is the social commentarists of 100 years ago were right. They only had their timetable off by some decades.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Right, but isn't this same president also setting a good example by having a large garden on the White House lawn?

 

[Davaroo]

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Is he? I didn't know that. It is indeed a good example.
Go Obama!

Now, do I believe that one act means the government condones you becoming self sufficient and no longer needing them or their ministrations? Sorry, no. This is bigger than that.

I personally think you should also be an end point generator of electricity. It's utterly feasible - a windmill and some solar panels, a little redesign of your house and you could do that. Oil could be diverted and consumption reduced, you could sell back power to the grid and it wouldn't cost a lot.

But our leaders want to corporatize and subsidize multi-trillion dollar programs to develop things like windmills. I like the way that sounds on the surface, but I don't relish the government/corporate bloc controlling that, anymore than I do healthcare or agriculture. For the same money and you as end point generators, they could free up so much more.

I certainly enjoyed Rillions analysis, and I get the message, "know where your food comes from, know what's in your food, encourage your government to stop handing out enormous subsidies. And make the government entities responsible for ensuring the safety of food and food workers do their job. "
In essence, The Evil Twins, government involvement and corporatization has yet again mucked things up and you bear the onus. So get them out.

Sounds nice. But some citizens with gardens and local farmers are way down the ladder in this. It is far more gargantuan than we may imagine. I don't believe this one film will get the Evil Twins out of the food business.
I personally do not believe they can, not now.

 

[Rillion]

Quote:
Thank you.

But also, I would say-- if this film can't do that on its own, does that mean it's not worth anything? I think it's terribly unrealistic to expect anything to get the "Evil Twins" out of the food business in one fell swoop. In order for that to happen the public needs to be informed about exactly what the problem is, and that's going to happen gradually.

Reading Fast Food Nation made me give up on fast food almost entirely (I still have moments of weakness) and develop a keen interest in eating grass-fed beef, even if it's more expensive. It also helped inspire the urge to raise chickens myself and eat their eggs. I can't imagine that I'm the only one who has reacted in such a way. I agree with you that the main focus should be encouraging people to vote with their wallets, and choose to buy food which is made by people they consider to be more ethical. That would always be my preference over increased government regulation, but it's not going to happen if the people don't get the idea in the first place. And things like this film help them get the idea.

Does that make sense?

 

[Lady Henevere]

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Makes lots of sense. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan did the same for me. My sister-in-law had a similar reaction to King Corn. Some friends went "veg" for a while after seeing Earthlings. Films like this have power, because knowledge is power. The more we know, the more we can make good choices as consumers and voters. And if we choose to keep eating fast food or meat or processed food or whatever, fine. At least we do it by choice and not out of ignorance.

 

[Wifezilla]

I know that "Supersize Me" has been brought up a few times...but who saw "Fathead"? It's kind of the rebuttal to "Supersize Me". Tom Naughton eats only at fast food restaurants (ala Spurlock) but he LOSES weight

 

[michickenwrangler]

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Is he? I didn't know that. It is indeed a good example.
Go Obama!
.

Well, technically, it is his wife, but yes. Much to the chagrin of D.C. old timers, Michelle Obama and the girls have put in an organic vegetable garden on the grounds. I also heard a rumor that they have chickens, but I do know for certain that they have a garden. I'll try and find a story and post a link.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Here's a link to an article about the First Lady and her garden. It sounds like she's doing this for health reasons, not sustainability, but hey...We all need to eat healthier anyway.

http://www.wnem.com/politics/19770363/detail.html

Enjoy

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Thank you.

But also, I would say-- if this film can't do that on its own, does that mean it's not worth anything? I think it's terribly unrealistic to expect anything to get the "Evil Twins" out of the food business in one fell swoop. In order for that to happen the public needs to be informed about exactly what the problem is, and that's going to happen gradually.

Reading Fast Food Nation made me give up on fast food almost entirely (I still have moments of weakness) and develop a keen interest in eating grass-fed beef, even if it's more expensive. It also helped inspire the urge to raise chickens myself and eat their eggs. I can't imagine that I'm the only one who has reacted in such a way. I agree with you that the main focus should be encouraging people to vote with their wallets, and choose to buy food which is made by people they consider to be more ethical. That would always be my preference over increased government regulation, but it's not going to happen if the people don't get the idea in the first place. And things like this film help them get the idea.

Does that make sense?

I agree with all you say and it makes perfect sense. Ideas matter; again, Ghandi proved that.

But as I read your comments I could only think, "It's not that people need to get the idea. What needs to happen is there must be a substantial benefit to them. Ideas always come with the question, "Whats in it for me?"
After all, think about this: people have been pumped with good ideas like this for decades. To reiterate what I've said - it's not news. There is a continual backbeat of such expositional work, these days.
Yet, they still eat McDonalds, go to the grocery store for $4 chickens, purchase everything from China and even as we speak, continue to trust their government.

Remember we're not talking about BYC'ers here - they already get the message. Rather, we're talking about the vast mob of humanity who must be fed - and who are moving ever farther from doing it on their own.

Believe me, I'm with you. However, noble Idealism and the motivation of "doing the right thing" has yet to woo the mob for long.

 

[Rillion]

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Okay, so what's your solution? If you have one that's better than documentaries and other attempts to inform people via the media, and you're opposed to governmental measures, then what's left? How is one to "woo the mob" ethically? And if the mob is not wooed, then how is anything to be changed?