Food, Inc.

[gaited horse]

I raise 4-h homgrown pork and if the buyers would like I let them see how there meat is raises

 

[ecocheapomom]

Someone mentioned Monsanto and I highly recommend the film "The World According to Monsanto". What these films are trying to shed a light on is the plight of farmers, even large, industrial ones, when they are up against multi-national, government backed corporations. These companies are not only controlling prices and supplies, but are damaging the environment and it's inhabitants at an alarming rate. It truly is about sustainability and how we can make that accessible and affordable. Until that time comes, I will grow as much of my own as I can.
I would suggest at least seeing the film to know where it is coming from. The best way to clarify what your own resolutions are is to look through the eyes of the oppostion.

 

[Crusty McPottydoodle]

Quote:
http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/newsreleases2009/NRcommunitygarden.htm

March 4, 2009

City to create community garden on City Hall lawn

VANCOUVER – Mayor Gregor Robertson announced today that a portion of the City Hall lawn will be converted into a community garden. The idea to grow local food on the grounds of City Hall is the first ‘Quick Start’ recommendation to come from the Greenest City Action Team.

“If we want Vancouver to be a truly sustainable city, City Hall needs to lead the way,” said Mayor Robertson. “By converting part of the City Hall lawn into a community garden, Vancouver is walking the talk when it comes to producing local food.”

Today’s announcement is a symbol of the City’s commitment to develop 2010 community garden plots by 2010, as an Olympic legacy. A portion of the community garden space will be allocated to communal plots where vegetables will be grown for donation to food providers in Vancouver’s inner-city neighbourhoods.

The City will be partnering with SPEC (Society Promoting Environmental Conservation) to develop and design the garden. SPEC runs two demonstration gardens in Vancouver and works with groups who want to start their own community gardens.

“There is a huge demand from people in Vancouver to have the opportunity to grow their own food – there are waiting lists for community gardens across the city,” said Mayor Robertson. “Converting a portion of the under-used City Hall lawn for gardening is something that should have happened a long time ago for a city that likes to talk about being ‘green’.”

The idea to create a community garden at City Hall is the first ‘Quick Start’ recommendation to come from the Greenest City Action Team. The Team, which met for the first time on February 25, is focused on immediate action steps the City can take to improve its environmental performance. Members of the team include Dr. David Suzuki, Former Premier Mike Harcourt, and Vancity CEO Tamara Vrooman.

 

[Sallyschickens]

That is AWESOME!

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
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.

You are absolutlely right about me.

I'm not knocking anyone for wanting to make a point - heck you just did, I have, the rest of us do. That's our priveledge. My hat is off to anyone who does so. I also admire the entrepreneurial spirit, wherever it is found. I hope the creator makes tons of money and gets famous.

However, I can go to YouTube and see a dozen "documentaries," denouncing the evil's of modern agriculture and telling how wicked mankind is for resorting to it. I myself used to spout all the same stuff, back in the day, so I've heard most of it. If there is some new wrinkle or little detail, I'll risk missing it.

So, you go ahead and soak it up... I'll just go out to my garden and grow something while you're gone.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/newsreleases2009/NRcommunitygarden.htm

March 4, 2009

City to create community garden on City Hall lawn

VANCOUVER – Mayor Gregor Robertson announced today that a portion of the City Hall lawn will be converted into a community garden. The idea to grow local food on the grounds of City Hall is the first ‘Quick Start’ recommendation to come from the Greenest City Action Team.

“If we want Vancouver to be a truly sustainable city, City Hall needs to lead the way,” said Mayor Robertson. “By converting part of the City Hall lawn into a community garden, Vancouver is walking the talk when it comes to producing local food.”

Today’s announcement is a symbol of the City’s commitment to develop 2010 community garden plots by 2010, as an Olympic legacy. A portion of the community garden space will be allocated to communal plots where vegetables will be grown for donation to food providers in Vancouver’s inner-city neighbourhoods.

The City will be partnering with SPEC (Society Promoting Environmental Conservation) to develop and design the garden. SPEC runs two demonstration gardens in Vancouver and works with groups who want to start their own community gardens.

“There is a huge demand from people in Vancouver to have the opportunity to grow their own food – there are waiting lists for community gardens across the city,” said Mayor Robertson. “Converting a portion of the under-used City Hall lawn for gardening is something that should have happened a long time ago for a city that likes to talk about being ‘green’.”

The idea to create a community garden at City Hall is the first ‘Quick Start’ recommendation to come from the Greenest City Action Team. The Team, which met for the first time on February 25, is focused on immediate action steps the City can take to improve its environmental performance. Members of the team include Dr. David Suzuki, Former Premier Mike Harcourt, and Vancity CEO Tamara Vrooman.

Thats what I'm talkin' about, right there. Government helping people to live better lives on their own, not simply trying to control them.

 

[babylady4]

It sounds like the book Fast Food Nation; a very interesting read (I have not seen the movie). I had to read that along with watching the movie 'Supersize Me', another interesting documentary that in a way ties in the the whole mass food production industry.

Working at a cheesemaking facility, I can tell you how much milk is required for our production, and what is done to said cheese in order to develop the flavors. In order to meet demand our patrons must produce so much milk, and therefore the uses of synthetic hormones come in to play. Not what I want to eat, so I have been making my cheese purchases at local small facilities, and taking a stab at making my own.

I would love to see this movie.

 

[Rillion]

Well, I just got back from seeing the film. I don't know if it's possible to spoiler a documentary, but if you don't want to hear about what it was like then skip the rest of this post.

I won't be able to give the same perspective on the movie that some people will, because much of the information given in it I knew already-- I've read Fast Food Nation, and its author Eric Schlosser was one of the makers of this film and also features prominently in it. The central point of the movie was basically that when you add up the following:

1) ignorant or apathetic Americans who insist on paying the lowest possible prices for food,
2) huge centralized corporations trying to cut costs in every way possible, and
3) government subsidies,

....you end up with big problems. It becomes a selfish circle of everybody trying to do what they think is in their own best interest, even at the expense of someone else's.

Four companies control 80% of the beef and pork market, which means that they can basically treat the farmers who work for them however they want. A chicken farmer who works for Tyson was interviewed in Kentucky. He operated a number of chicken houses with a total of 300,000 birds in them, and wanted to show the interviewers around inside but "multiple visits from Tyson caused him to change his mind." Many thousands of clucks could be heard from inside the completely closed up buildings. He noted that the chickens there never see the light of day.

Tyson, Smithfield, and Monsanto all declined to be interviewed for the film. I assume BPI also did, but I don't recall whether that was mentioned or not.

The most interesting part of the film to me was the discussion of corn, and how many things have been derived from it-- and also how much money the government pours into subsidies for it which make it so cheap. Corn gets fed to cattle because it's a) cheap and b) makes them fatten up quickly. Unfortunately, their stomachs are not designed to handle it nearly as well as grass. Additionally, cows raised in grassy fields can provide the fertilizer for their own food, as was pointed out by Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms . Salatin is a (sometimes alarmingly) emphatic supporter of sustainable farming, and was interviewed at length.

The discussion of Monsanto lost me a bit because I'm not up on the technicalities of what it means to patent a gene, or what it means to re-use soybean seeds.

There was an interview with a woman whose young son died from e-coli coming from a burger from Jack in the Box. I remember reading about that in Fast Food Nation, and how long it took-- 16 days after the boy's death-- to recall the meat.

We received a dizzying list of former high-ranking executives from major food companies who then received posts in the federal government that would give them significant influence over regulation standards in both the Clinton and Bush administrations.

Slaughterhouses in general came under fire for ruthless treatment of workers due to the desire to turn out as much meat as possible in as little time as possible. The jobs don't take much skill, and a lot of people are needed for them so slaughterhouses will "import" Mexican workers without worrying about checking their legal status, who then of course are not treated as having any right to a safe workplace because they're illegal. The largest slaughterhouse in the world, Smithfield in Tar Heel North Carolina, was accused of occasionally turning over small numbers of workers to the police to satisfy the public desire to keep illegal immigrants out.

The take-home message was simple and explicit-- it actually was printed on the screen at the end of the film. Know what's in your food, and where it comes from. Encourage your government to stop handing out enormous subsidies, even if it means food will cost a bit more. And make the government entities responsible for ensuring the safety of food and food workers do their job.

It's possible to state facts which are not necessarily bad but are made sound bad nonetheless, and the film was guilty of that from time to time, especially at the beginning. Making the food production process simpler, cheaper, and more efficient is not a inherently bad thing. It wasn't a bad thing that fast food made the assembly process automatic, so that unskilled workers (read: teenagers) could do it for a low wage. Corn is definitely not a bad thing (mmm.....corn). But seeking the cheapest solutions without thinking things through can have unintended consequences that turn out to be very bad. It seems like the dramatic increase in distance that has arisen between consumers and the origins of their food, both geographically and mentally, has caused some such consequences.

 

[Wifezilla]

The discussion of Monsanto lost me a bit because I'm not up on the technicalities of what it means to patent a gene, or what it means to re-use soybean seeds.

Unless you want to get seriously ticked off, don't read up on it.​

 

[michickenwrangler]

We here in Michigan are used to being in one-sided documentaries (thanks to Michael Moore--who btw went to grade school w/ my husband) mainly showcasing Flint but people do need to be disgusted or incensed before taking action.

I have a bachelor's in history and anyone who can remember back to 10th grade US History can recall Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" where Sinclair disgustingly described conditions in a slaughterhouse (through the eyes of a Lithuanian immigrant no less). According to urban legend, Teddy Roosevelt was eating bacon while reading the book and hence the FDA was born.

I'm not trying to stoke up any political fires, but since nearly all of us here have chickens and gardens, WE at least are somewhat educated on the subject to try to become sustainable. The rest of the US may need the proverbial kick to get them going and this documentary could be it. After "Supersize Me" McDonald's (where I worked for 6 years) made an effort to have healthier food. The apple dippers come from Michigan apples so I make an effort to buy them for my daughter when we go there. Other fast food restaurants follwed suit. People (at least a significant amount)stopped buying milk products with growth hormones.

Think of this as muckraking back from the Progressive Era. Now, in a way, we are trying to go back to our farm roots because we cannot grow enough food to sustain the world. If this film gets people to have a few hens, a garden and buy meat directly from farmers, then it is worth it. Every little bit makes a difference.