Eat your veggies
Submitted by Jeff Fox on July 13, 2009 - 9:12am
What's this? A crowded Tivoli on a Sunday afternoon? For a documentary?
Yes. The movie was "Food Inc." It's worth seeing. The basic idea is that corportate food production has changed dramatically in the last 50 years and because of that, the human diet has changed more in that time than in, say, the previous 10,000 years. It is an attempt to raise awareness in the same way Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" did a century ago. I've been waiting for an update to "The Jungle" – in the form of book or fillm – for 20 years. And more people will see the movie.
The movie hits the high spots: how we've genetically modified all sorts of things so corn products are in just about every processed food product on the grocery shelf, how meat and other industries have become more concentrated and powerful, how farmers are treated, how workers are treated, how animals are treated, how little inspection is done, how little power regulators have to do anything when they find problems, how some companies are working with the Wal-Marts of the world to make things a little better. And then there's what this is doing to our waistlines and what we the consumers can do. It's informative and thought-provoking, which is what a documentary is supposed to be.
Some have compared it with "An Inconvenient Truth," the Al Gore movie about global warming that won the Oscar for documentaries in 2007. That's about right. These are facts and trends we've been aware of for a long time, but this pulls it all together into a pretty good package. It might not convince you to never eat another hamburger, but it might nudge you to look over the ingredient list on a few products before deciding whether to toss them in the grocery cart.
As I always say with movies like this, hey, it's Kansas City. It might be gone in two weeks. It might come back. It might not. It might be here all summer. Who knows? So check it out sooner rather than later.
One of the featured experts is Michael Pollan, who first came to my attention a few years ago by buying a cow, following it though the industrial cow-production process and writing a long magazine piece about it. It's at http://www.michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=14. Good stuff.
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I read the synopsis of "Food Inc" I don't know how this as well as "Inconvenient Truth" pass as documentaries. They're basically a biased infomercial of ones bias opinions. I would like to see it though. I didn't see Gore movie, but I've read he's president of a company called GIM that trdes in carbon credits and his net worth in 2000 was $5 million, in 2007 with his new found interest in global warming its over $100 million. I found that to be an 'inconvenient truth'. I wonder what he'll make it he can use his political influence to get legislation passed to force people to need his services? Does anyone know anything about the people producing this and what their political persuations might be? That's probably just as informing as the subject matter.
........good thoughts.......my friend and I saw a "Penn and Teller" show about how somebody just put on a printed badge ....donned a clipboard......and approached people in the parking lot asking for donations for carbon credits of what the people think that they used that day.........ROFL........as usual?........Americans trying to solve problems and quiet their conscience buy "throwing money at a problem"........my friend and joke about carbon credits ALL the time now......"King of the Hill" did a funny commentary on it too.....with Hank's propane company where he worked.......and how the money was abused..........and misrepresented..........I dont' find your findings about Gore surprising at all..........wasn't he "Tommy Lee's" roomate in college?..........I think it's great that the public outcry over his sprawling estate electricity usage promted him to placate his congregation by increasing his solar conversion amount...........
eldoggg
I thought I might add, those of you who read the blogs, and are age 40 and over, when did you last get your blood pressure taken, and what was the numbers? How about you cholestrol, do you know your numbers? How about that LDL? If these are high and you are 40 to 50 years old, even younger or older, if you know your numbers and can get on the appropriate diet and excercise plan, or medicine you could prevent a stroke or heart attack. For some reason they do think it is waist measement, which affect health.I myself, enjoy the no salt cans of tomato sauce in cooking. I do not eat out much for this reason. You can do everything right and be genetically inclined to these bad numbers, or you can eat everything wrong and have better numbers, but knowing gives you a powerful step in the right direction. A friend recently suffered a stroke, and she was not much overweight, did not smoke, but it was bad, she is better though, enough to go back to(very limited) work.
I haven't seen this movie and probably wont unless it comes to Netflix. Your description of it does highlight how much our society has changed even in my lifetime. Gone are the days when we raised and processed most, if not all, of our own food. Today we are dependent on others to provide us safe and nutritious food stuff, and in an ever increasing number of instances we are disappointed and endangered as witness the increasing numbers of food recalls because of contamination at the originating source.
Couple that with a fast paced lifestyle (who has time to prepare everything from "scratch") and you have a recipe for unhealthy dietary practices leading to obesity, diabetes and coronary distress. Did the movie offer any solutions or did it leave you with no choices?
It does offer some ideas. The ending is a rousing statement that we as consumers have much more power than we think and that we vote three times a day. Pollan has a whole list of suggestions that boil down to rat real food, not too much, mostly plants (his words). There's also shop at your local farmer's market, learn how to cook (and thereby use more basic foods and fewer with mono-di-tri-sodium whatever), sit down and eat meals with your famiy. Google Michael Pollan or look to the links with his article that I linked in the original post, and there's all kinds of stuff. My favorite is, "Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."
Jeff Fox, opinion page editor, The Examiner, jeff.fox@examiner.net, 816-350-6313
..........."grandmother recognizes as REAL food?".............like....................."HOT....................POCKETTTTTTTTTTTS".... ha ha ha ha
eldoggg
.......I'm not an expert by any means on genetically modified food.....as I was channel surfing the other day.....I paused MOMENTARILY..........ROFL........on the "over the top" Glen Beck show...........they had a guy who had written a book about concerns over food production and such......hitting a couple highlights he mentioned that of about 79 genetically modified foods that only 6 or 7 had been really tested......and once they're out here?.....they of course blow to the wind and cross poliinate and "Katy bar the door".......he also mentioned that there had been a corn which was produced to have a contraceptive in it.......referred to a Henry Kissinger quote about controlling countries with weapons and controlling the world with "food control"..........ROFL.....I know this sounds "over the top" as usual on that show.....I don't even know if any of it is true........but it DID grab my attention.......this isn't really a movie type response to the post entry but it brought the subject to mind.......and I DO believe that our food supply has changed more in the last 50 years than the previous 10,000 years.......where can you get a nice hormone free Brontosaurus burger these days?......one where the feet where always on the ground.........and that was treated humanely as we killed him............Bedrock?.........WILMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !!!
eldoggg
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When I lived down in Joplin I had a friend who killed chickens at the chicken plant…
He got reprimanded one day for being mean to the chickens???????
These are the same chickens he was killing for pay????
Isn’t killin something about as mean as U can get?????
When I was in College at Columbia(MU) a guy I had some classes with worked at the animal shelter. He told me he got fired and I asked him, why? He told me that after they euthanized some puppies he and a co-worker were playing pitch-a-puppy with the dead pups seeing who could hit the trash can with the carcass. Answer, yes you can be at least mean spirited after something is destroyed and need to be reprimanded. He was a pretty good guy, but I think you get a little jaded. Kind of like this turkey bowling I see around Christmas. These animals that serve mankind are deserving of an attitude of humane respect, not for their benefit, but for ours.
He's real lucky He didn't work for me...........
He would have felt what it was like to be tossed into a trach can beat to $h!t........
.....you got my drift.......but there are circumstances where humans abuse the animals unnecessarily......like when those guys who were poking the pigs with sharp objects......it was kind of a "tongue in cheek" jab at PETA who is way TOO far over the top.......wanting us to eat just carrots and "things without a face".....however?.....there is no need to torture or tease the animals...just BECAUSE they are going to be killed.....they should be killed as quickly as possible.......one of the first precursors that serial killers show is a cowardice of torturing defenseless animals.......killing is one thing........making a fun game of torturing the animal is quite another...........
eldoggg
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When I could get around I use to hunt up by Herman Mo and I
Would torture and chase a buck around about 600 ac for an entire
week-end before I shot him, and then bring him home and torture him
some more on the grill??? Of course if U have ever trailed a buck over hill
and dale for a week-end I’m not sure who was doin what to whom ????
As u said it takes about 6 months, to finish one off, but worth every
penny of time and effort?
Pretty soon Hunters are going to be a thing of the past???
..........I guess our defintions of torture are two differnt things......If one likes to inflict unncessary pain on a defensless animal and enjoys it then OK.........I'm sure it's an ego builder....what you did doesn't qualify as torture to me......merely a hunting expedition.......you twisted what i was saying to fit YOUR purpose...that's OK....I've done it too.....but I fail to see how gouging a pig that is ready to be slaughterd with a sharp object is akin to hunting a deer......TWO ENTIRELY different things......and you know it........I'm not talking about hunting ..........or killing.......I enjoy a good steak......I'm talking about the unnecessary inflicting of pain for nO reason other than to amuse the human....these are not hunters.......these are cowards working at processing plants..........I think Ted Nugent is great.......unfortunately we can't ALL own 700 acre ranches to shoot our dinner evry night......it's kind of sad to me that you equate hunting with what I was talking about.........go figure.......hunters aren't going to be a thing of the past as long as there are women to get away from.....but how you twisted this post to say that is reall;y amazing..........
eldoggg
I think I could have had my tougue in my cheek?
But as I said first I find i hardt to see, being mean to a animal that U r going to kill???
the killing seems to be as mean as it gets??? just me....
If U have ever slauthered hogs? they don't really work with U??/
There is a lot of kickin and pushin and crap goes on while Ur trin to kill em?? been there done that?
.........well......my bad then........but to disagree with you on the whole philosphy of killing being paramount to torture......I don't know how YOU slaughtered hogs......but on my grandpa's farm?.......he handed me a .22 when I was 12 and said "shoot him right between the eyes"........I remember the pig looking right at me......but I did it.......and he fell..........and that was it.......people HAVE to eat....something has to shed blood in this world for another to eat........we're not all panda bears..........I'm not somekind of PETA freak...........and I watched gramps kill chickens.....never did he waste time inflicting pain without killing the animal.....it was always swift........we weren't standing around laughing while we plucked it's feathers off of it alive.....or poking pigs with pitch forks........just to be clear what the heck I'm talking about.........kapeesh?...............cowardice is cowardice no matter hOW you package it..........
eldoggg
for some reason my grandma didn't want to shoot them, we had to cut their throut and catch the blood and she made sauague with it???
like I said gettin them to stand still was a chowar? and it did sort of resemble a rodeo, all neighbors and we all helped each other???
..........I've watched Andrew Zimmerman with the whole "blood pudding" bit......and me?......not so much......I KNOW nothing about making sausages....but why couldn't you shoot the darn thing and hang him upside down .....THEN cut his throat.?.......I've heard people talk about "wasting a bullet"........whew.........I watched a nice asian teen reach into a cage with about 50 guinea pigs....and they were screaming and hollering too.....and trying to get away......as she reached in and grabbed their comrades and quickly swung theiur bodies around.......breaking their neck.........no wonder the hogs put up a fight........ROFL........
eldoggg
..........I've watched Andrew Zimmerman with the whole "blood pudding" bit......and me?......not so much......I KNOW nothing about making sausages....but why couldn't you shoot the darn thing and hang him upside down .....THEN cut his throat.?.......I've heard people talk about "wasting a bullet"........whew.........I watched a nice asian teen reach into a cage with about 50 guinea pigs....and they were screaming and hollering too.....and trying to get away......as she reached in and grabbed their comrades and quickly swung theiur bodies around.......breaking their neck.........no wonder the hogs put up a fight........ROFL........
eldoggg
May I say this conversation does not sound to kosher
..........good one Laharl.......except you spelled "to" incorrectly......ROFL..........( too)........
eldoggg
find Barbie, adults are talkin............
I'm with you on this one man...... I eat cow, pig and occasionally deer....... Deer while in season and that usually will last me at least 6 months depending on the size. I do know a guy that kills for the sport and nothing more, it makes me want to do the same to him......
..........that tells me alot about the guy.........hopefully he donates the "sport animal" to people that really ARE hungry.........I'll bet he keeps fish that are too small too.........a REAL sportsman.......maybe he bought some illegal heads to adorn his den.......so he can brag about shooting them too...........reminds me of the idiots who charter "big game" hunts on ranches where exotic animals are "farm raised"...then they enjoy the "sport" of shooting them from afar as a sniper........those are REAL men............
eldoggg