Food Inc.

[ianmdrennan 2]

Has anybody seen it?

No political message in it (that I saw), but a really interesting view into the Food System of the USA.

Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[NWFlyer 2]

Yep, one of my favorite films of recent years. Most of the info wasn't new to me as I've been reading* about the food system for a few years now, but I enjoyed the way the information was packaged and presented.


*various reads include The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food (Michael Pollan), Fast Food Nation (Eric Schlosser), The Compassionate Carnivore (Catherine Friend), Just Food - Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly (James McWilliams), The 100-mile Diet (Alisa Smith and JB Mackinnon). I've also heard Pollan on a bunch of TV and radio shows, as well as seen him speak up at UC Berkeley, where he's on the faculty.

There's definitely some fundamental flaws in our system, but as books like "Just Food" point out, there's also not a lot of easy solutions. What all this reading has done for me has made me more conscious of where my food comes from and I'm making at least some different choices.

I've started getting produce delivered regularly from a local CSA, which has been fun because not only am I supporting a local farm with fresh, in-season foods, it's challenging me to try things that I wouldn't ordinarily buy. I've started buying more organic dairy and cage-free eggs, and grass-fed beef, and locally-sourced produce from stores (in addition to what I get in my CSA box).

It's not a wholesale change but I'm at least trying to change my buying habits. I travel so much that often I have to eat what's available and practical, but at least I'm trying to improve the quality and sustainability of much of what I bring into my home. It's a start, and I'm fortunate to live in an area with a lot of awareness (and thus a market, and thus availability), and also with year-round availability of fresh produce.

For people who are interested in finding a local CSA or farmer's market, www.localharvest.org is a good place to start.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[1969912 0]

Yeah. Pretty good film. Really made me think about what I eat.

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[ianmdrennan 2]

Yeah, it made us glad we were using (well researched) CSA's who are like that 'grass roots farmer' in the documentary.

It's not all that surprising, and I always knew that kinda stuff was going on - it just really drive the point home.

One of the more interesting things to come from it was the Veggie Liable Laws. I find it really interesting that, in some states, it's a felony to speak out about a food product. My initial thoughts were that it's a first amendment violation but even so, it was clearly driven home how - regardless of such - you'll just be sued until you run out of money.

Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[MakeItHappen 15]

Quote

Has anybody seen it?

No political message in it (that I saw), but a really interesting view into the Food System of the USA.

Ian

Another good documentary is 'The Future of Food'.
You can see it on hulu

.

.
Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[PLFXpert 0]

I had ignored it personally, due largely to overconsumption of such information, but decided to watch it when I read this thread.

It would be a good overview for most folks (especially those who are not interested in seeing graphic images or being attacked politically), and I even learned something new.

Thank you for the boost to watch it. I would also recommend it.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[rushmc 23]

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Yeah. Pretty good film. Really made me think about what I eat.

I am lucky because of where and how I grew up.
I have not purchased any canned tomatoes in my life ever. When I first was on my own my mother provided me with home grown canned tomatoes (which I grew up on) of every form you can think of. My wife and I now do all our own canning of green beans, carrots, tomatoes and she even cans pre-cooked spaghetti sauce. We freeze our own corn, carrots and broccoli. I live off of kahlrobi and asparagus as long as it lasts. mmmmmmm

Meat comes from neighbors who raise cattle and hogs to butcher and sell quarters and half beefs and pork.

We are moving this month and I have a chance to purchase an acreage where I can raise beef and pork. Hard to pass up that when my brother in law grows grain and he will trade for beef and pork. I will use no growth hormones as I have a dear friend who love meat but has a medical problem with that and whole sale antibiotics (which I will only use when needed to help the animals). (and they will not be in small pens either)

So, I have seen it (food inc) but, being growing up where I have I understand the issues put forth but, i also think that some of what is put forth exaggerates some (not all) of the issues.

But I consider myself lucky to have learned what I have growing up.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[pirana 0]

I added it to my movie queue about a month ago, but the kids keep putting other stuff ahead of it.

Have read Fast Food Nation and Why Things Bite Back. And did enjoy Supersize Me a couple weeks back.

Anybody here familiar with Baracka, or is it Baraka?

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

[Shotgun 1]

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I added it to my movie queue about a month ago, but the kids keep putting other stuff ahead of it.

If you have Netflix, they also have it available to watch instantly.

I thought it was pretty good. It was mostly stuff I already knew, but I enjoyed some of the footage such as the Polyface Farms stuff.

I didn't like the "Supersize Me" movie. He did a good job of showing what happens when you eat excessive calories and don't exercise, but it made no sense to put any blame on McDonalds.

[PLFXpert 0]

Fresh is widely considered to be--but not technically--the follow-up film to Food, Inc.

If Food Inc. gave us the "what is wrong" with our mass-food-production system, Fresh is expected to answer the "what now?" question Food, Inc. left many viewers.

I am looking forward to seeing it.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

I finally got around to watching this documentary.

I don't want to sound naive as I knew ahead of time that humans were not exactly ethical in how we treat animals as our source of food. But there were still some eye openers in the documentary. Something in the documentary stood out to me. When the ethical poultry farmer who used "Free-Range Broilers" as opposed to the ever so ugly "Indoor Broilers" was killing his chickens I could not help but notice that every chicken was making the exact same sound as the worker took the chicken from the cages and placed them head first into a cone just before they were killed. It was if the chickens were saying in chicken language "Please don't kill me". As ugly as the killing is (in both ethical as well as industrial operations), we must all still eat and the predators in the wild can be pretty ruthless when they kill their prey for food.

I am not expecting any radical changes and I am not about to become a vegetarian. But watching this documentary will make me think twice about where some of my food sources come from.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[lawrocket 3]

T's a good thing. One message sttod out for me. There was a farmer at the end saying that farmers will give what people want. If we demand great food, farmers will grow it. Only it also pointed out that the government itself causes problems, like the guy killing and cleaning chickens talking about fighting the government to do it that way.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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There was a farmer at the end saying that farmers will give what people want. If we demand great food, farmers will grow it.

Even though it would mean the end to cheap beef, I personally would like to see the cattle farmers stop feeding their herds corn. I never really thought about this until after watching the Documentary but cases of E Coli infections would go away if the livestock farmers stop forcing their cattle to live in their own shit and urine and of course this would only be good news for humans not worrying about getting sick when they eat meat.

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Only it also pointed out that the government itself causes problems, like the guy killing and cleaning chickens talking about fighting the government to do it that way.

Yeah that was the guy I was referring to as the ethical farmer. His cattle graze in his fields eating the grass and his chickens are not cooped up inside. What a pathetic existence we humans force those chickens to live when they are in these "Indoors Broilers". Damn things are so weak they can barely walk and must sit in their shit and piss for their 5-6 weeks of life.

PS: Last night I ate a tasty 1/2 chicken meal before I watched this Documentary.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[kelpdiver 2]

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I am not expecting any radical changes and I am not about to become a vegetarian. But watching this documentary will make me think twice about where some of my food sources come from.

basically it said, don't buy beef from the supermarket. Buy beef with a known origin. And ignorance is bliss when you're on a road trip and need to eat fast food.

[billvon 3,119]

>I personally would like to see the cattle farmers stop feeding their herds corn.

Yep. Or worse, slops from other food industry. I watched a documentary that described what a typical cow ate, and one of the "supplements" was rejected candy from a candy manufacturer. I can't imagine a more foreign food for a cow's digestive tract than M+M's.

>but cases of E Coli infections would go away if the livestock farmers stop forcing their
>cattle to live in their own shit and urine . . .

. . . and then solving the resulting problems with big doses of antibiotic.

[NWFlyer 2]

Quote

I am not expecting any radical changes and I am not about to become a vegetarian. But watching this documentary will make me think twice about where some of my food sources come from.

It's taken me a while, making gradual changes, but, as noted in my post earlier on this thread, I've made a lot of progress. I already noted the changes as of last year, this year's been all about the meat - a couple months ago I finally bought a freezer (it's stuck in the corner of my dining room, so it's not like you have to have space if you're willing to make space!).

Just this morning, in fact, I picked up a 1/2 of a pig, directly from a source I'd researched carefully. So now, there's 76 lbs of well-raised, humanely treated pork in my freezer. I can't wait to try the sausage for breakfast tomorrow!

Also in the freezer is a 1/4 cow, that I bought directly from a friend's small family farm. Finding that was a stroke of random luck - I'd mentioned that I was considering getting a freezer so I could start buying high quality meat in bulk, and my friend mentioned that they had a 1/4 they'd been looking to sell (to help cover their costs of raising/processing). Win/win, and it is some seriously delicious beef. I mean, even the ground beef is good enough that I will cook a burger up, and eat it with nothing on it just so I can enjoy the taste of the meat.

It took a small initial investment ($200) for a 7 CF freezer, and I figure the extra electricity costs me a few bucks a month, but I'm saving a huge amount on the meat relative to buying the meat piece by piece, so it'll pay for itself very quickly (and since I bought the freezer with a gift card I got through work as a spot bonus, it was kind of "found money" anyway).

So while I'm paying more per pound than I'd pay for most cuts in the supermarket, by buying in bulk, I'm getting even the expensive cuts at a lower per pound price than I'd pay for the cheapest cuts at the farmer's market or the local butcher.

You don't have to go vegetarian. But if you're willing to spend more time and money and "vote with your wallet" you can get better quality stuff. It tastes better, and it's better (by a long shot) for your health. That alone, for me, is worth it, even if the environmental/ethical impacts weren't there. Add that on, and it's a big win for me.

The true "cost" of supermarket meat is hidden. I'd rather pay it up front for better stuff.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[NWFlyer 2]

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And ignorance is bliss when you're on a road trip and need to eat fast food.

About the best you can do (of the national chains, anyway) is Chipotle. They're not perfect, but they do make a strong effort.

http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/fwi/fwi.aspx

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[mpohl 1]

You are what you eat, and your mind has what you read!

Dietary changes aren't enough! Don't buy any more bullshit by the pound! Offered from Washington at a discount.

We are the 99%!

Quote

Quote

I am not expecting any radical changes and I am not about to become a vegetarian. But watching this documentary will make me think twice about where some of my food sources come from.

It's taken me a while, making gradual changes, but, as noted in my post earlier on this thread, I've made a lot of progress. I already noted the changes as of last year, this year's been all about the meat - a couple months ago I finally bought a freezer (it's stuck in the corner of my dining room, so it's not like you have to have space if you're willing to make space!).

Just this morning, in fact, I picked up a 1/2 of a pig, directly from a source I'd researched carefully. So now, there's 76 lbs of well-raised, humanely treated pork in my freezer. I can't wait to try the sausage for breakfast tomorrow!

Also in the freezer is a 1/4 cow, that I bought directly from a friend's small family farm. Finding that was a stroke of random luck - I'd mentioned that I was considering getting a freezer so I could start buying high quality meat in bulk, and my friend mentioned that they had a 1/4 they'd been looking to sell (to help cover their costs of raising/processing). Win/win, and it is some seriously delicious beef. I mean, even the ground beef is good enough that I will cook a burger up, and eat it with nothing on it just so I can enjoy the taste of the meat.

It took a small initial investment ($200) for a 7 CF freezer, and I figure the extra electricity costs me a few bucks a month, but I'm saving a huge amount on the meat relative to buying the meat piece by piece, so it'll pay for itself very quickly (and since I bought the freezer with a gift card I got through work as a spot bonus, it was kind of "found money" anyway).

So while I'm paying more per pound than I'd pay for most cuts in the supermarket, by buying in bulk, I'm getting even the expensive cuts at a lower per pound price than I'd pay for the cheapest cuts at the farmer's market or the local butcher.

You don't have to go vegetarian. But if you're willing to spend more time and money and "vote with your wallet" you can get better quality stuff. It tastes better, and it's better (by a long shot) for your health. That alone, for me, is worth it, even if the environmental/ethical impacts weren't there. Add that on, and it's a big win for me.

The true "cost" of supermarket meat is hidden. I'd rather pay it up front for better stuff.

[billvon 3,119]

>We are the 99%!

In this case the 99% are the ones eating the factory farm food; most meat in the country still comes from big feedlots. In general the people who are more careful about what they eat are labeled rich elitist snobs.

[wmw999 2,589]

I buy as much meat as possible from the local farmer's market or Whole Foods; yeah, it's more, but we don't eat all that much meat (we really do find a 3-4 oz serving to be plenty, 4-5 times a week max), and I don't worry then about what the poor animal was treated like.

When I go out to eat, I order what I want and enjoy it.

Today I ate at my sister-in-law's parents' farm; I had the toughest, but tastiest, chicken I've had in years, cooked in traditional country (Brazilian country) style. Talk about tasting chicken-y!

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[ianmdrennan 2]

We buy our food almost entirely from local CSA's who have sustainable practices (our seafood as well), no hormones introduced, and naturally raised animals.

Ironically we save quite a bit doing this because we don't end up in stores much, buying a bunch of useless crap because it looks appealing.

The food tastes noticeably better too AND it's made us try different things since we get whatever is in season.

Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[Andy9o8 2]

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One of the more interesting things to come from it was the Veggie Liable Laws. I find it really interesting that, in some states, it's a felony to speak out about a food product.

Well, close. The laws don't criminalize such speech (in the US), but they do give much greater latitude to food producers filing civil lawsuits against people who speak out about food. I consider them to be a form of "SLAPP" suit ("Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation"). I think such laws are morally reprehensible; and from a US law perspective, I find them highly constitutionally suspect.

Here's a Wiki synopsis of veggie libel laws: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_libel_laws

And here's a Wiki synopsis of SLAPP suits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slapp