Food, INC. An Important Movie for Foodies Everywhere

"The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000. But, the image that's used to sell the food is still the image of agrarian America. You go into the supermarket and you see images of farmers, the picket fence and the silo, farmhouse and the green grass. It is the spitting image of this pastoral fantasy. The modern American supermarket has on average 47,000 products. There are no seasons in the American super-market. Now there are tomatoes all year round. Grown half way around the world, picked when it was green and ripened with ethylene gas. Although it looks like a tomato, it is kind of a notional tomato, I mean it's the idea of a tomato. In the meat aisle, there are no bones anymore. There is this deliberate veil, this curtain that is dropped between us and where our food is coming from. The industry doesn't want you to know the truth about what you are eating... Because if you knew, you might not want to eat it. "

These are the opening lines of the new documentary on the state of the food industry today. FOOD, inc. is available now on DVD. Your local library will have free copies for you to check out, or Amazon.com offers copies for sale at a $10 discount. And yes, it is filled with those horrible images of factory farms and mass slaughter of animals that will turn your stomach. I am not a PETA person, I know where a pork loin comes from, and yes; Wilbur from Charlotte's Web, Babe and and even MS Piggy are all welcome on my grill (well, maybe not Ms. Piggy). But, as horrific as those scenes were, it was more frightening to see the number of NON-ELECTED advisers and high ranking officials in both Republican and Democrat administrations over the last several years who were paid advocates of the factory farm systems. heads of the FDA and USDA, A Supreme Court justice and TOP policy advisers to the last few Presidents are all former paid employees of the "bigger is better" factory farm industry.

As foodies, as food bloggers with whatever small following we may have, we should be doing our part to correct this trend that has started in our lifetime.

Next time you are hunting for a video on Friday night at Blockbuster, consider renting FOOD, inc. One more line that stayed with me... "Why is a head of broccoli more expensive than a heavily processed double cheeseburger from McDonald's. We have skewed our food system to the bad calories".

Currently, Congress is in the process of debating Health Care revisions for an entire nation...

Imagine!

"Imagine what it would be if (as a nation) national public policy (government regulations), we said, "we would only be successful if we had fewer people going to the hospital next year than last year"."

Imagine!

Below are the tag lines shown at the end of the film. All are small things that we can do to add quality to our standard of living... We can make a difference.

You can vote to change this system - 3 times a day

Buy from companies that treat workers, Animals and the environment with respect

When you go to the supermarket, chose foods that are in season. Buy foods that are organic. Know what's in your food. Read labels

Know what you buy.

The average meal travels 1,500 miles from the farm to the supermarket. Buy foods that are locally grown. Shop at farmer's markets. Plant a garden (even a small one)

Cook a meal with your family and eat together.

Everyone has a right to healthy food. Make sure your farmer's market takes food stamps. Ask your school board to provide healthy school lunches.

The FDA and USDA are supposed to protect you and your family. Tell Congress to enforce food safety standards and re-introduce Kevin's law.

If you say Grace, ask for food that will keep us, and the planet, healthy.

You can change the world with every bite

Hungry for a change?

Go to

http://www.takepart.com/issues/food-industry/13735 "

OK, thanks for listening, I am off my soapbox for the day, and more food content coming tomorrow. Thanks for listening, and consider just adapting a few small changes. I am an old hippie soul, with a little bit of 60's experiences. We can change the world a little at a time.