This week I watched Food, Inc., and predictably, I feel like crap.
I’d heard this film was somewhat akin to going to confession, and I knew I was a sinner in the church of food. But after passing over it many times in the movie store (yes, I am the last person on the planet without Netflix) in favor of more light-hearted selections, I finally rented it.
Of course, the images of fluffy, buttercup-yellow chicks being transported on conveyer belts like car parts and manhandled by stony-faced workers was disturbing. And the hectic squealing and terror on the “kill floor” of the pork packing plant was cringe- inducing. The worst, I think, was the government’s night-vision raids on the mobile homes of undocumented workers (not the mansions of the business executives who employ them.) That really pissed me off. And it was painful to watch a Latin American family struggle between $2.00 hamburgers at Burger King and $5.00 bunches of broccoli at the grocery store. Which would better fill the bellies of their two children?
Certainly, the issues are complicated. With the rising population, how are we supposed to feed all these people? Especially when the houses of that same population are encroaching on much of the farmland. How are we supposed to prop up hard-working farmers? How are we to keep food costs low enough for American families to be healthy and happy?
There are many questions. But what is readily apparent—no matter how you feel about animal rights or immigration laws—is that the system is big and sick and dead wrong. We aren’t propping up farmers; we’re driving them further into debt. We aren’t feeding people healthy, life-sustaining food; we’re feeding them crap—because crap is cheap. And we’re not making the best use of our land, we’re not letting the symbiotic relationship between plant and animal work its simple, age-old magic. So now we’ve got super-bacteria in our bellies, and E-coli on our tomatoes. We’ve got people dying from infected food, and the rest of the population growing heavier and sicker by the year.
But let’s be honest—we know this. We’ve read Omnivore’s Dilemma and Fast Food Nation. We’ve seen segments on the news, and heard about these issues on NPR. Yes, we’re upset by this information, but it no longer shocks us. Truth be told, I expected to be duly horrified by the inhumane practices of factory farms and super-companies like Tyson and ConAgra. I expected to make major resolutions about the food I buy and what I eat. But I didn’t expect to fail so heartily so quickly.
A few days later, driving down a country road, Tony saw eggs at a roadside stand for $2.00 a dozen. We bought two. And as I gazed over our beautiful, misshapen, hard-shelled, sustainably-raised eggs in hues of pale brown, pink, and blue, I sighed and took in a deep breath of the unseasonably warm air and thought “Yes, this is it! I am doing it.”
Only, that night for dinner I was served a delicious riff on cassoulet made with sweet Italian sausage, chunks of earthy lamb and tender pork, and plump kielbasa—all hailing from God knows where. (Probably Costco.) And I didn’t even think about it. Literally. It didn’t even cross my mind until the next morning. I felt like a fraud. I had been so self-congratulatory about my eggs that I had completely missed the meat carnival in my dinner.
If people who care about these issues mess up so often and so completely, then what about the rest of the world? Is there any hope for us? For now, I guess, I’ll stick with my eggs and pray for the New England weather to stay warm and the farmer’s markets to open early.
It makes me nervous to think of how many people there are out there that don’t care. That eat whatever, because if a store sells it is must be fine to eat. So what you are saying is my box of cheez its I ate yesterday probably wasn’t a good idea? I kid I kid. I know, it was a bad idea. My stomach is reminding me, right now.
Good post!!!
The movie changed me too, Sharon. There are two chicken companies mentioned in the movie that lost my business for good, and I always bought their meat at Costco. Now it’s harder to spend more for organic meat, but I’ve found that pounding the chicken breasts and cutting them in half fools the whole family! We still get our meat but eat less of it which is what we should do anyway.
Thanks for the great vegetarian recipe — I’ll be making this one soon.
I too struggle with these thoughts.
I live on a farm and raise my own goats (milk, cheese, yogurt) and chickens (eggs, meat) and have pretty big veggie gardens.
I buy larger quantities of lamb,pork or beef when my farmer neighbors are selling – all grass fed – and put in the freezer in the basement.
But I can’t always afford to get all my other groceries at the local coop – so the big W gets some of my money – it bothers me. I am choosing to eat less – quantity vs. quantity and feel I am doing what I can with where I live and the money I make. Things can’t change over night, stressing out isn’t good for one’s health either – so, big picture with daily effort.
Thanks for the post – keep buying those eggs.
That’s why we live in the country and raise free-range organic eggs, poultry, and meat. 100% of our meat is homegrown or shot in the wild by my husband and myself, otherwise it would be unaffordable!! We also sell beef in bulk to people for affordable prices (more than the storebotten feedlot beef but less than the food cooperative). Just sent 20 lb to a friend of ours in Chicago with another friend who was going that way. I do buy a bit of BIG FOOD products, though, especially when the organic counterparts are unpalatable, like ketchup and sweetened condensed milk. I am OK with a bit of a balance in that department.
I recently watched this movie too.
Sharon, you are the second-to-last person without a netflix subscription. I have a hard enough time working through my dvr collection without adding videos to the mix…..
I gave up pork a long time ago when I was working with a British co-worker. She told me the story of when she was living outside of London and her then-boyfriend was working for the British equivalent of the USDA inspecting slaughterhouses. She said he hated going to the swine houses because the pigs were terrified there. They knew what was going to happen, and the squealing and panic was unbearable. That cured me of pork. Well that and the story the local veterinarian told me of the old schoolteacher who had three pigs (not pot belly), who lived in the house with her. Each had its own bowl for food, each had its own water bowl and no one ever touched the others’ bowls. Each had their own bed (with sheets) and each would take a shower before bedtime. And every day the town would see her on her evening “constitutional” followed by her three “children”. Yeah, not eating pets.
out here in california our options seem much more expansive — I belong to a CSA and get a biweekly organic produce box with stuff grown within 90 miles. i have started buying the insanely expensive (and worth it) organic, appropriately fed, cage free/humanely treated meat — what little of it i eat. i try to buy organic at my local super market but the price of organics there is so amazingly inexpensive that it doesnt break the bank, as it would have if I were still living in San Diego or Austin (i’m in Berkeley).
i too, though, have not found my way to perfection. I try to buy a lot of stuff organic but when the bell peppers just look better in the next isle, i perpetually find myself reaching for them. eating a much less meat intensive diet has been one of the ways i have tried to avoid food sins…and I almost never eat red meat.
I think it is a daily task to change our habits and live more sustainable, eco friendly lives…sometimes that starts one egg at a time 🙂
a friend of mine runs a really fascinating blog about some of these issues, http://thevoiceofthelobster.wordpress.com/
Sharon, I’d encourage you not to be too down on yourself about eating that delicious cassoulet. It takes a long time to change a habit, and it sounds like you’re just getting started. For me, switching to humane/whatever meat wasn’t too hard, but it was because I’d been a vegetarian for 12 years beforehand and was very slowly adding meat back into my diet. It probably took me two or three years to really switch my dairy and egg consumption, though.
Right now you’ve got the eggs. And farm eggs are, for my money, one of the best possible places to start because they’re so gorgeously delicious, and so superior to supermarket eggs. Maybe try milk next – it’s another place where you get a big flavor difference. By the way, while all the Californians (hi Tara!) sit around being smug about how great and cheap the winter produce is (oh and it is – citrus and fennel! asparagus in February!) you can comfort yourself with the thought that I still miss the eggs I got in PA, and that the ones at the farmers’ market here are $6-7/dozen. INSANE. I eat a lot fewer eggs now.
Each step in the right direction is still a positive step – no matter how far you are from the goal! I tell myself this often because our current system makes it so hard to do the right things! Great post.
I, too, am making baby steps. We recently watched Food, Inc and are bothered terribly. It helps that our local supermarket is pushing locally grown produce, but still. It is expensive to eat properly. Makes me want to move to the country, buy a cow, chickens and plant an orchard.
Spring is coming in and I’ve been feeling a little down. When Andy and I were living in the UK, this would be the time of year that we’d be planting our vegetable garden. Now, we’re living in NYC. We have a small balcony, but of course, no space to grow. And produce in NYC is just so expensive. But then yesterday, someone on Twitter mentioned a Lower East Side CSA. So I signed up. For about $300 we get 22 weeks of fresh vegetables that are grown by a farming family in NY. So we aren’t all lucky enough to live in the country. Or a beautiful place like California, but there are ways to live right no matter where you are. It’s not ideal, but as everyone keeps saying…baby steps.
Ok Sharon :)! I’ve got to watch it!
I love your website, but I can’t keep quiet about this post. Please do not be political on a food website. You don’t really know what you’re talking about–especially after watching 1 movie and reading 2 books. Leave it to the people who work in agriculture.
Why don’t you say more, Christina? Would love to hear what the folks who work in agriculture have to say.
We’ll continue to speak our mind and encourage others to do the same.
Hi Pam,
Yes, I see your point–you are definitely free to speak your mind. I just got excited for a food post and it was another depressing political piece. I’m sorry if I came off as rude.
I do work in Ag and I work for Monsanto (who is severely bashed in Food Inc.). We are frequently accused of having a monopoly on very expensive seeds. Well, the thing is, each new seed variety that we produce takes about 10 years of research to produce. So our seeds are intellectual property. The issue of monopolies and seed prices is better left to the lawyers.
I just don’t feel like what I do everyday is making the world a terrible place, like this movie depicts. I grow seeds that use less water and fertilizer and get higher yields. How’s that for sustainable? Producing more food with less inputs is what sustainability is and it’s what Monsanto is all about.
I’m not the authority on Monsanto, and I’m sure my comments will spur backlash.
I just wish everyone who is into ‘local food’ and ‘sustainability’ and ‘organic food’ would talk to a farmer. Ask a farmer about what matters to him: it’s water, fertilizer cost and yields. We give farmers what they need.
We should all stop blaming everyone for the obesity and food crisis in this country. We should just keep cooking homemade meals for our families and appreciate food.
Have a great Good Friday.
Sorry again if I came off as rude.
Christina, thank you for replying and sharing your insights and perspective.
In a lot of ways, I don’t know what I am talking about. As a grad student, I would be failed if I turned in a research paper with as little knowledge of something as 2 books and a documentary. So, you’re right there. Thankfully, this is a blog where we can sound off (rightly or wrongly) about what we’re thinking, and where people like you and others can respond. There are, as you’ve pointed out, always at least two sides to every story.
As for farmers and big companies, I know little. But, I do know that I like to support local businesses and people (no matter whose seeds they’re using.)
And I don’t mean to blame obesity and health problems on corporations, I am a HUGE proponent of personal responsibility and food choices. But, there is a point at which, when you’re struggling for money, you have to make tough choices–and I just wish that cheetos weren’t cheaper than cheese. But, I wish a lot of things for this world that are far more complicated than I understand.
Hope you keep reading our blog–your voice here is very welcome! And I think we’ve got enough food posts to keep you happy…most of the time 🙂
Hope you have a thoughtful and blessed Good Friday. (I don’t know about you but the weather here is just wondrous!)
Thanks, Sharon. I think we’re on the same page. Even though I don’t really know you, I still felt uneasy–like we were arguing or something. I feel a lot better.
As a grad student, I did my Master’s thesis in organic vegetable production. I was very opinionated and I thought I had all the answers to solve the food problems in this country. Well, then I graduated and started looking for jobs (this was only about 2 years ago). No one in organics would hire me (and the salaries were a joke). So I was forced to “sell out” and get a job with one of the big companies. I got hired at Monsanto (the largest Ag company in the world). It really put things into perspective for me. There really are two strong sides to the ag debate. I’m still partial to organics–I shop at my farmer’s market and buy beef, poultry, and pork products from my neighbors, but now I also see the “large farming” side of the picture.
Anyway, happy Easter!
We too rented Food, Inc. about 2 months ago and have vowed to go back to the organic meat CSA we had belonged to previously for 3 months. It was expensive, but after watching that movie and doing more research on our own, we think were right the first time we went to that CSA—it is a matter of eating healthier and creating less health problems for our future. Also, sorry Christina…..I would recommend buying The World According to Monsanto. I was unable to find anyone that rented it. Christina, I understand your side as well, but my gut tells me the right thing to do is to go organic and local when possible. I am feeling a sense of urgency to get better foods into my kids. The other day I somehow stumbled upon a doctor’s site that I found interesting. She is a bit more extreme than I can realistically expect us to be, but maybe some of you would interested in reading her research articles and publications. They are interesting and in my humble opinion, make sense..http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/health-research-and-publications.html