This movie makes me sick to my stomach because the food industry is something of which my family is a part of. The opening of the film explains how the general public is being decieved; that they are led to believe that their food is being produced on a lovely country farm, with a red barn and green pastures, while in reality, this is a complete fantasy. The ironic thing is that this is exactly how my family farm is! We have a red barn, lovely green fields, and some of the happiest cattle you ever did see. At least until we sell them at the auction mart. I asked my Dad and he said they are sold to a feedlot after that. He has personally never seen a feedlot though. I wonder if he would still want to sell them if he knew. I wonder if most farmers around my hometown would. Although my Dad believes that humans are "above" the animals (in his traditional Catholic way), he has always treated the animals on our farm very well. Any time us kids wanted to shirk our chores he would yell out, "Do YOU like to eat and drink?! Well, the cows like to eat too!" Clearly the people running these industries don't have a fraction of the concern for the animals my Dad does. And if they aren't caring for the animals WE eat, then they aren't caring for us either. The sad thing is that as much as my Dad might care, he is not the end of the line. I need to believe there is some way he could be, and want to find out how to make that possible.
The overweight family of 4 also made me sad. I agree that generally speaking "bad food" at the grocery store is cheaper than fruits and vegetables. But then again, they spent $12 at a fast food restaurant when they could gotten much better value for their money at the grocery store. For example, 1 loaf of bread for $3, 1 jar of peanut butter $3-5 (depending on the jar), 1 bag of apples $5, and 1 bag of carrots $2. This is a quick, easy and cheap lunch. Maddening to see them going for the soft drinks and denying their little girl some pears. If I was offered 20 bottles of pop or just ONE pear I would choose the pear hands down. Why? Because the pop has NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE! It is completely worthless. It's several moments of pleasure that equal a lifetime of pain. It's really the biggest scam that ever existed. These companies are making people PAY to get themselves sick. And they do it so so well! I have read many articles on the combination of sugar, salt, and fat that food companies layer into food so that we crave it again and again. Basically these combinations stimulate the brain to release dopamine which is an instant pleasure rush. Food addiction is very real. And the public needs to be better educated about it, otherwise they have no way to escape. Breaking the cycle IS possible and absolutely wonderful. But that choice can't be made until they know there is another option! I also want to note that it's not just the "lower-class" that needs to be educated. There is so much tricky labelling, decieving advertising, misunderstandings/debate about what is healthy or not that absolutely everyone needs to learn. My Mom is a doctor and tried to teach me everything she knew but I still ended up this way...until I continued my food education. It's fundamentally a food problem, not a weight problem.
Inspiring evidence?
Me at ~242 lbs! =(
Currently me!
~160 lbs! (in 10 months and still going!) =)
The patenting of genes by Monsanto is also very disturbing. It seems that they have an even firmer grip in America than in Canada, because they are suing farmers and actually getting away with it. We learned about the case of Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto in a lawsuit over some Round-up ready canola getting into Percy's seed (by unknown/accidental causes), and Monsanto thereby suing him for patent violations. Thankfully Percy won his battle in Canada; his case can now be applied to other farmers in similar situations. From what I've heard Monsanto sounds like a complete monster. I went to their website and found out that their headquarters is in Winnipeg! Monsanto monsters among us!? Personally my family hasn't had any issues with Monsanto. My Dad has been using "Round-up Ready" canola for quite a few years now. (And he is getting aggravated by all my questions!) But it seems to me Monsanto only really has a problem with you if you are one of those few farmers who isn't using their product. Those farmers are getting fewer and fewer...90% of soybean crops are round-up ready in the US (Source: Food Inc.), and 50% of canola crops in Saskatchewan are round-up ready (Source: Schmeiser vs. Monsanto website). This is a trend we definitely want to reverse since pesticide use period is very bad for the environment; just one of the plethora of negative methods used on our land by conventional farming.
The patenting of genes by Monsanto is also very disturbing. It seems that they have an even firmer grip in America than in Canada, because they are suing farmers and actually getting away with it. We learned about the case of Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto in a lawsuit over some Round-up ready canola getting into Percy's seed (by unknown/accidental causes), and Monsanto thereby suing him for patent violations. Thankfully Percy won his battle in Canada; his case can now be applied to other farmers in similar situations. From what I've heard Monsanto sounds like a complete monster. I went to their website and found out that their headquarters is in Winnipeg! Monsanto monsters among us!? Personally my family hasn't had any issues with Monsanto. My Dad has been using "Round-up Ready" canola for quite a few years now. (And he is getting aggravated by all my questions!) But it seems to me Monsanto only really has a problem with you if you are one of those few farmers who isn't using their product. Those farmers are getting fewer and fewer...90% of soybean crops are round-up ready in the US (Source: Food Inc.), and 50% of canola crops in Saskatchewan are round-up ready (Source: Schmeiser vs. Monsanto website). This is a trend we definitely want to reverse since pesticide use period is very bad for the environment; just one of the plethora of negative methods used on our land by conventional farming.
And the last part of this film that made me feel even worse was the honest plea to "use your money to vote" for healthy (for the people, planet, and animals), sustainable ways of growing food. Especially since in my last blog reflection I wrote about how I couldn't always shop organic because of x, y, and z reasons. Well this movie just put one more weight on my shoulders that I feel strong enough to bear! I'm going to suck it up and take a very long bus ride to the Organza Market on Osbourne once a week. "If the people demand good, wholesome food the farmers will provide it." (Food Inc.) Here I am, demanding!
Works Cited:
Livewell 360. Sugar, Salt, and Fat: An Additive Combination? Nov.29/09 Found at: http://livewell360.com/2009/11/sugar-fat-salt-an-addictive-combination/ Retrieved on:
Mar.11/10
Monsanto Canada. Our Pledge. 2006-10. Found at: http://www.monsanto.ca/about/pledge/default.asp Retrieved on: Mar. 11/10
Schmeiser, Percy. Monsanto vs. Schmeiser. 2009. Found at: http://www.percyschmeiser.com/ Retrieved on: Mar.11/10
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