David,
Thanks for writing about this documentary. I had a chance to watch this in a theater and was shocked to know what was shown in the movie.
Later I also did watch a youtube video - "the world according to monsanto".
Companies' bottomline is to make profits. It is upto the govt to do proper regulation and make sure what people consume is what it is labeled as. But the revolving door policy between food/agri industry and Washington has made matters worse. Hopefully people get more awareness by watching Food Inc (and similar ones) and that should be a catalyst for the changes that we need in the farm policy.
Lawmakers can make changes - but they would require people support. People support will come only when they become aware of where and how the food comes to their plate.
What is required is - a movement similar to the ones we saw for booting the tobacco industry in the 60s.
Thanks for writing a review of this documentary.
Thanks
Venkat
There are different views on fibromyalgia although all are based on the constant pain that produces the disease and although not yet really know the accurate cure for it, I have my father suffering from this disease and I am interested in the topic to be able to help their pain to dissipate in any way and have read many books on fibromyalgia and chronic pain and to find findrxonline indicate that opioid narcotics for pain control are excerpts from the opium and are very effective and are commonly used to control and remove moderate to severe pain, these drugs are controlled NARCOTICS opioids which required a medical prescription.
Thank you, David, for presenting the information from Food, Inc and other sources. There is, in my mind, a relatively easy, inexpensive solution to the problem of big agriculture.... eat organically. I'm Type II diabetic and have been struggling to keep my blood levels low. In fact, I want rid of this terrible disease! I've read a lot and studied several different methods of eating to help control blood levels - hi protein, hi carb, medium carb, etc. Nothing has worked until now. Several months ago I switched to an all vegan diet, but even that hasn't given me the results I want. So, I'm making the switch to an all raw, living food diet. So far, I've had great success with my blood levels and feel great. It is within each of us to take control of our food to help control our health. If we all stopped eating fast food and other junk today, the big businesses wouldn't be in business for very long. Even better, grow your own! Even if you live in a high rise apartment, you can grow some of your food in a windowsill. We must stop blaming the government and take responsibility for ourselves and our lives.
Unfortunately, eating organic isn't going to solve the problems of large agricultural corporations, because as soon as organic becomes profitable, the Big Boys are going to sell organic stuff. This trend has already started.
Also, many of us have never eaten fast food except on rare occasions and we still got diabetes. We can't blame fast food for everything.
What is the meaning of "organic grown food"? Does it really exclude any type of GMO? And how is it inforced?
I do know that other crops such as canola (a large percentage)
are grown exactly like soybeans, using GMO to make them resistant to the herbicide roundup, which is used to control ALL weeds and other growth in the fields.
David, I actively farm, and have lived on the farm started by my great-father in the 1890's in eastern Nebraska. I haven't seen the film you talked about, but it sounds like it is only half true, like many things. Much of the science behind agriculture and the changes that have occurred came from land grant Universities such as Iowa State and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. The farming methods were changed to solve real problems. The problem isn't production ag, but food processing. We have gone from cooking meat and vegetables at home in the kitchen, to buying ready to eat microwave food. Meat and grain haven't changed, but processing sure has changed.
I join with you in a "tip of the hat" to the land grant institutions and their associated experiment stations. However, the food processing that concerns you is part of their training/research also. I suspect social issues (lack of exercise opportunity) and increased awarness of chronic illness are more to blame.
I have to agree with you!!! I was a midwesst farmer for 40 yrs and all I ever heard and saw from the gov was get bigger and bigger, use those ww2 leftover war chemical gas and grow more on less acres. then the dairy buy out, we want huge corporate ag to milk the cows. How stupid can you get. Now we have to send them bail out checks, from the lowly peasant taxpayers. Our hole corporate system of ceos making there million and the dam stock opions they get so they don't have to pay taxes!! all the pyrdamid scemes and con artists, the middle class just keeps scrincing, and taxed to death. The chiinese sure lectured Obama on how to get our capitalist act together, or we scrink to oblivian. Where had our Calvanist tradition as a nation gone?
My Look AHEAD (Diabetes Research study) watched this film a week ago. We did not discuss afterward, but I cam away trying to make sense of things. David, I liked your balanced attitude regarding the corporate farms. Besides the Supreme Court decisions regarding genetically modified foods and bacteria, I want to add that part of the problem regarding maintaining a safe food supply (no matter if it's a manufactured food or straight from the farm) is the lack of FDA and USDA oversight.
I lived in Anchorage, AK where I was food service director for a state-owned hospital. We got our meats from a prison-operated slaughter house (the only slaughter house in Alaska). One day we toured the operation and saw the steps that were taken during the slaughtering process. A veterinarian from USDA was there to certify the meat. The cattle were not prison-produced but came from the ranchers throughout the Wasilla-Palmer area. We were impressed with the professionalism of the prisoners (and had no idea when we placed our meat orders that a prisoner was on the other end of the phone) as well as the cleanliness of the place. The hanging meat had been graded as Prime which is a compliment to the ranchers. On the way home we all wanted a steak.
Of course, having a captive working crew rather than someone making BIG bucks (the prisoners were paid but they were also receiving trade training) probably contributed to the atmosphere of the place. And, it's a small operation, not a huge factory farm.
Dear Pauline,
You are absolutely right that lack of government oversight is part of the problem. I should have mentioned it. And as someone said, it's not the corporations and not even the government that is the prime cause of the problem. It is lack of interest by us Americans. We will get only what we demand.
Best regards,
David
David- Enjoyed your article and agree with some of what you stated- I grew up on a family farm in central Illinois and farmed with my father for 11 years- I also worked for ConAgra for 16 years and had 2 uncles who were in the chemical industry- What is portrayed in the film is as one comment stated- about half true- I believe in the family farm and believe it or not most of the farms are family farms- there isn't enough time to address all the points but just remember that all things are not always how they are portrayed- I feel like I have seen several sides of this issue and am happy to have been a part of American Agriculture and what it has accomplished- eat well!
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David - I think you are too quick to absolve corporations. They have used money to almost control and own the legislative branch for decades now.