Food, Inc

[Bluebird]

Saw a really good show last night on PBS. Food,inc. Documentary of where and how the food we eat is produced. Scarry stuff and I hope that many get a chance to see it in the hopes that it scares a lot of people. If you google it, the web site will tell you how to find a viewing of it.

[Forerunner]

Any time now, you will be attacked for two reasons;

1. There was a thread created about this a couple days ago.

2. There are some on here who are quite upset about the truth that is told in that documentary.

Fare thee well.

[Bluebird]

Oh darn, and I searched it before I posted.

[Emmy D]

Don't be upset Bluebird, the folks here who believe and KNOW that the documentary is FACT want to know that more people out in this country are seeing it and getting the message!!!

Emmy

[meanwhile]

I did not see the other thread - oh well. I saw the movie and thought it was awesome and true too. Good stuff. People eat junk and trash and don't even know it! Oh well - maybe one day....

[tom j]

HERES YOUR FIRST ATTACK
If you worked were they prepare food , you would see all that happens to your food before it comes to you .. then there would bee a lot of roof top gardens .
and no empty fields . they would all be rented for gardens . and stores would be full of the crap we get now , but no one to buy it just kidding about the attack

[plowjockey]

Unfortunately, it's perfect world vs real world.

Not everyone can spend $15 for a pasture raised broiler, or $9/lb for grass fed ground beef. They don't have room for a garden. Forget raising any animals They just need to feed their families, as best as they can, for as little money as they can.

Everyone who raises animals know how difficult the economics can be and large scale producers are the the gun to do more with less, if they want to stay in business.

Is the "natural" way to raise animals better? Sure. Will the natural way keep everyone fed? No.

[PrincessFerf]

I've seen that documentary before.

Its a very complex topic. Many, many people have no interest in preparing their own food, much less creating/growing/raising it. Therefore, there's a huge market for others to produce food for them.

People nowadays are very removed from the creation of their food, and most are just fine with that. I'm not condoning it, its just the way it is.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Originally Posted by plowjockey

Unfortunately, it's perfect world vs real world.

Not everyone can spend $15 for a pasture raised broiler, or $9/lb for grass fed ground beef. They don't have room for a garden. Forget raising any animals They just need to feed their families, as best as they can, for as little money as they can.

Everyone who raises animals know how difficult the economics can be and large scale producers are the the gun to do more with less, if they want to stay in business.

Is the "natural" way to raise animals better? Sure. Will the natural way keep everyone fed? No.

i think the question you are asking is not will it keep everyone fed but will it keep everyone fed at the obseine levels they are over fed at now. i like my meat and i never thought i would be the one to suggest people eat less meat but the serving for meat for a healthy diet is 6 ounces or about the size of a deck of cards at least this is what the dietitians keep telling me, if we ait less and my family is eating much less than i ever thought would happen around 50% or more of all suppers are meatless we can be both fed and healthy for the same amount a meal does not need to revolve around a slab of meat

but yes i think we can keep people fed just fine , will it cost more yes maybe for a while but currently we are subsdidising the production of corn thru tax dollars so your paying for 99 cent a pound meat thru your taxes , your paying for over proccessed refined food with your health insurance premuims even if your not the one eating to much of it. so you pay the piper either way the only question is when.

[Wendy]

That show made me glad we raise most of our own food.

[Forerunner]

Originally Posted by Wendy

That show made me glad we raise most of our own food.

My point, exactly.

[Slugmar]

I have no problem with the movie and I bielve the topic and there research is right on I do have a problem with what people are charging for there products I grow locally using non-certified organic methods to the best of my ability I also raise grass feed animals all except pigs they get whats left out of the garden and grain from the feed stores just because they are hell on pasture.

It doesnt cost me that much to raise an animal on pasutre or put a 2 acre garden in my opion they are just ripping people off because they know that people will pay a higher price for items raised in this manner.

i NEVER thought i would see my husband (green county pete) being an advocate of less meat either! yes there was a thread the other day, yes there was a lot of animosity towards the movie, i will repeat essentially what i said then. everyone should see this movie, take away from it what you will. as for my family, after that movie, i find it incredibly difficult to shop for meat. we eat alot of our own produce, and hunt, grow or trade for most of our meat but on the rare occasion when i have to buy something it is almost painful to search the meat case for something we can afford and will be okay with eating. For those who think this movie is all lies, ask yourselves with the money that big ag has dont you think they would have sued the pants off the makers of the movie if they were lying?

[haypoint]

Locally grown foods are fresher and good for the local economy. It is something everyone should strive for. But everyone's situation is different.

Most people do not have the time or ability to search out the truth. Movies like Mike Moore's slanted half truths, that one about Income tax being illegal and now Food, Inc. just confuse people. Even the truth, when shown out of context, cropped and worst case examples shown as if it is the norm, becomes lies.

I hope we can promote vegetable gardens and locally grown beef, CSAs and Farmer's Markets, without making an industry that we know very little about into the boogy man.

Quite frankly, I think we have bigger concerns than Food Inc. Has anyone seen the unemployment map showing how this country is shutting down? How about the world population showing that at the current birth rate Europe and the US will be Muslim in about 25 years?

[Laura Zone 10]

I have not seen the movie, can I rent it or see it online?

[timfromohio]

Bluebird - that was indeed a great movie. Very motivational.

Plowjockey - not sure where you're getting price information from, but we get 100% pastured beef give no hormones and no antibiotics from a farmer who lives 45 minutes south of us, butchered by another family butcher business 20 minutes south of us for a little over $3/pound for a mixed quarter. If we commit to the farmer to buy in bulk up front it saves a lot. If you buy only steaks or filets it might cost you $9/lb, but when you buy in bulk you get a great mix (steaks, ground, ribs, roasts, soup bones) for a great price. I don't have enough land to raise my own beef but am able to buy in bulk, keep my money local, and help to support two Christian family businesses in the process. Everybody wins. Check out www.eatwild.com to find a directory of small farms in your area. As for broilers, I don't think you need more than 1/4 an acre to raise your own - Forerunner, you probably know more about this than me - we're just getting into poultry and are getting laying hens (the "gateway" animal), but based on a lot of reading it seems that you could easily raise all the chicken you'd need (for a family -even a big one) on very little acreage and time from chick to processed meat in the freezer would be around 10-12 weeks. Might take some time and effort (which is the majority of the problem here), but can be done.

Only one thing irritated me about that movie though - the family they profiled who claimed that they had to eat fast food b/c healthy food was too expensive. They showed the family blow $13 on a garbage fast food dinner. Sorry, but I am certain I could take that $13 into a grocery store and get the ingredients to make a very healthy and tasty meal (with enough for leftovers) - it would require actually cooking with raw ingredients which might take some time and planning, but them acting as though they couldn't afford to eat healthy is nonsense.

[fishhead]

My video store has it for rent.

I just saw it on PBS too. Wow!

I agree. Fast food is more expensive than good nutritious food.

[timfromohio]

Regarding time - I think that probably within my lifetime, most certainly within my childrens' lifetime, we'll all be forced to spend a lot more time on the basics - like growing food. Investing in learning how to do those things now will be very beneficial. People, in general, have plenty of time to learn about these issues and try growing some of their own food. Just turn off the boob tube and go do it.

Regarding industrialized agriculture - I don't need to know the particulars to say it's not going to work. Monoculture simply is not sustainable. GPS-equipped, unmanned tractors, processing thousands of acres of fill-in-the-blank crop isn't sustainable. The stuff that they feed to livestock? I'm certainly no farmer but know enough to state with certainty that if cows were left to their own devices they would choose to eat grass -not corn, not stale pizza dough, not spent and rancid brewery byproducts, not chicken feathers, not cardboard, and not other ground up cows (I've read documented accounts and/or seen video of all of these things being fed to cows). I also have no problem criticizing many of those farmers who signed up for the program - they took on enormous debt loads to build the chicken houses, or buy the huge combines (complete with AC and CD player), etc. Hey, they signed up for the program - don't gripe about it afterwards.

[geo in mi]

I confess that I haven't seen the movie, but since I have experience with the slaughter and processing of the most common farm animals--pig, cow, chicken, rabbits--I would know where and when to point the camera to get the most dramatic and sickening effect to shock any viewers without the same experience. I could also point it around any farm, feedlot, chicken, or dairy facility today and get some real shockers, too. .

Fifty years ago, it was a rather common eighth grade field trip to visit the local meat packing house--and any community of any size had one.(And you could tell as you drove by....) The students would be led through the process from the unloading dock, slippery with manure and filth, to the stun and kill room, then the deskinning and gutting operation, and on through the plant.. The guys on the lines(of course, in filthy boots, and with aprons covered in blood) would just laugh perversely at all the "girls" who were getting sick just watching the ongoing process. Then, at the very end of the tour, each student was led into a 'dining room' and offered one of the company's hot dogs. What a barf and gag session those trips were.

I would suggest--even without seeing the movie--that Food, Inc, is just an updated version of that same field trip, and its impact is greater because it has reached a much larger audience, and a much more food naive audience, at that.

For those who are shocked enough to do anything about it(instead of just ranting and raving), there are many ways to avoid eating the overprocessed and highly suspect foods found in today's typical food store. But there is a tradeoff involved--and there has always been one. Time, energy, know-how, and budget. Mamma always said it you want something to be done right, you have to do it yourself. And one shocking movie will probably not convert the entire world to a cook it from scratch, homegrown, homemade, movement. And that movie will probably have little impact on the corporations who are targeted by that movie--other than pulling the curtains even tighter on their operations and hiring more lawyers and PR people to shield themselves from embarrassment, lawsuits, and bad publicity.

It is good that this forum exists, to help each other with ideas, discussions, and encouragement toward that ever elusive goal of becoming--each in his or her own way--more self-reliant and sufficient. I'm glad there are people here wwho offer their ideas on how to get about finding time, energy, know-how, and budget to do what we can to get there. Fending for yourself will never go out of style, and neither will farmers' boots.

geo

[ksfarmer]

Originally Posted by timfromohio

I'm certainly no farmer ....... .

Obviously.