One more post about food.

I know... people want to see things about Mercer... but in some way this is about him (and about our friends / family / those we care about). I went and saw a film last night called Food, Inc. that talks a lot about food production, corporations, conventional farming and processing. I was SOOOO on the fence about seeing it even though I've already seen / heard about some of the stuff in it.

• We've seen the movie Super Size Me which is about the effects (and a little bit about the production) of fast-food. That didn't bother us because we don't eat fast food (except for the occasional Chick-fil-a grilled chicken sandwich). They talk about the "commodity" of the animal (and the farmer).
• I've heard things through the years about corn production, but learned about it's affects on cattle and the link to ecoli / cheap subsidized food / etc.
• I've seen first-hand chicken houses - as my mom's side of the family in NC used to raise chickens in the 70's... maybe into the 80's?
• I've experienced first-hand the effects of improperly cooked meat from a fast-food chain about a dozen years ago (long story - i was instantly sick after eating it, had months of intestinal pain and eventually lost part of my intestine).... that's why we don't eat fast food now! [there was a segment in the movie about a woman who's 2 1/2 year old son died of ecoli from a fast-food burger... and how 6 years later, she's still fighting in DC to pass a bill that shuts down plants that continuously produce tainted meats]
  

So... I feel like I know some of this stuff already... and I wasn't sure that I wanted to see more. But, I'm glad I did. The really eye-opening part of it all was the large-scale production of beef, poultry, pork, corn and soybeans. How large corporations are making decisions about farming techniques from their board-rooms... "engineered" chickens in the past decade that can grow twice as big in half of the time... how there is production of a meat product mixed with ammonia to kill ecoli which is sold to meat producers to mix with their meat (which means that people are eating ammonia?!)... and also learned how "engineered" seeds have chemicals in them that are strong enough to resist round-up. It is a little scary when you think about this on a large-scale... and even if we don't eat at fast food restaurants... how our meats and some veggies in the grocery store are produced to these standards b/c of the large-scale production methods are catered to fast food industry (they have that much of a demand to affect even products in grocery stores).

I'm not one to "preach." In my job -- there are people there who are preachy and sort of "shove" environmental building stuff down people's throats.... That's not my style. I would rather educate myself and others... and let people make their own informed decisions. I've found that works well. Once someone learns something about energy-efficiency, for instance, it's hard for them not to incorporate it. I only put this movie stuff in here to try to do the same regarding the food. It's "interesting." we eat 3 times (or more) a day and I would hate for what I've learned to only be kept within the walls of our home if it could help others.

I'm glad that I saw the movie. I can now make more informed decisions about our food purchases. I will. It's for my health. Todd's health. Mercer's health.

(Hmmm... I wonder if I can get his day-care owners to watch the film? In about 4 or 5 months, Mercer will move to the next classroom & I think they provide lunches in that room.)

We eat more healthful foods than many people. Mercer eats better than we do -- which we want to keep up as long as we can! (There was info in the movie about those who can afford to eat fresh fruits and veggies / those who can't. There is a disparity, for sure, regarding income level and health.) It made me think a lot about Mercer, actually. It makes us feel good that we can offer him good foods, and potentially a more healthful life.

As mentioned - it was informative, eye-opening, good for our household. Check it out if you're interested. That's all I'll post about it. : - )

- Candice

PS - I also posted a short update to the local-food-challenge blog about one issue that kept coming up... that we couldn't figure out... why couldn't we find locally-produced sustainable poultry. If you're in Georgia, you may want to read it. It may be true of other states too? http://local-food-challenge.blogspot.com/2009/07/local-food-challenge-update.html

PSS - a couple of other things I thought were cool in the movie... Stonyfield farms (that's the yogurt company whose products we eat) is now owned by Dannone. The guy who started it was talking about "selling his soul" and going into large-scale production... even selling their product to wal-mart. But -- he says that when that million-dollar order is placed by the mart, that he knows that there are that much less pesticides going into the soils, that much less antibiotics going into the milk that produces it. Kinda cool way of looking at it.

And the last take-away... is that we all have a choice. We vote 3 x a day when we make our purchases. That's why the organics industry has grown 20% each year for a number of years. People are demanding it. They encourage viewers to support local farms, CSAs, sustainable production. That's power! We're not "helpless" in this battle that's much larger than we are. Kinda cool, right?

over and out!
*bye*
next post... PROMISE... stuff about Mercer! : -)