This is a scarey movie

[miz_wright]

Isn't that the actual information from Fast Food Nation?

I was really confused by the story they jacked into the movie, but the book FFN (... interesting coincidence, there, eh?) freaked my shit OUT.

The Omnivore's Dilemma has been on my Amazon wishlist for a while, but I haven't gotten 'round to reading it yet.

[softball]

Originally Posted by LizAEBN

Isn't that the actual information from Fast Food Nation?

I was really confused by the story they jacked into the movie, but the book FFN (... interesting coincidence, there, eh?) freaked my shit OUT.

The Omnivore's Dilemma has been on my Amazon wishlist for a while, but I haven't gotten 'round to reading it yet.

I think if you read Dilemma first, then see Food Inc. it will become clear. The film has a few melodramatic flaws and a few shock value images but if you stay the course it improves. Like all opinion pieces, it is propoganda. But if you are interested in the subject, like anything else, your opinion becomes a sum total of a variety of sources and this film is a decent toe in the water.
If FFN freaked you out, I think Dilemma will goes deeper into the root causes.

An interesting point made in Food Inc., is the freedom you lose when four or five companies control just about everything you eat, and most of that is corn based and through high fructose corn syrup which is primarily responsible for the very serious diabetes epidemic in the Western world. Five years ago, I didn't know anyone with diabetes. Now I know five people ranging from 27 to 53 years old. Scarey but preventable.

These companies fight tooth and nail to shut down labelling laws. That takes away your freedom to choose what you eat when you can't find out where your food originates or if it has been genetically modified.

I could go on, but the book and many like it do a pretty good job if you read between the obvious spin.

[miz_wright]

Originally Posted by rhetorical

I think if you read Dilemma first, then see Food Inc. it will become clear. The film has a few melodramatic flaws and a few shock value images but if you stay the course it improves. Like all opinion pieces, it is propoganda. But if you are interested in the subject, like anything else, your opinion becomes a sum total of a variety of sources and this film is a decent toe in the water.
If FFN freaked you out, I think Dilemma will goes deeper into the root causes.

An interesting point made in Food Inc., is the freedom you lose when four or five companies control just about everything you eat, and most of that is corn based and through high fructose corn syrup which is primarily responsible for the very serious diabetes epidemic in the Western world. Five years ago, I didn't know anyone with diabetes. Now I know five people ranging from 27 to 53 years old. Scarey but preventable.

These companies fight tooth and nail to shut down labelling laws. That takes away your freedom to choose what you eat when you can't find out where your food originates or if it has been genetically modified.

I could go on, but the book and many like it do a pretty good job if you read between the obvious spin.

I don't really give a shit about GMOs - there's a lotta noise about it, and has been, but frankly: Hi, read some Mendel. This isn't new stuff, and nature does it anyhow. If we dropped the chemical fertilisers and pesticides 'n all of that, we wouldn't even need to sweat how to make veggies that evade cutworm. 'Cos guess what? Tomatoes will BREED THEMSELVES to do it!
NEAT! Lookit nature GO.

[/rant]

Sorry for the hijack, but GAH, that bugs me.

I do most of my shopping "around the edges" of the store, 'cos I am a fan of doing things from the start - that way I know what's in my food.

[softball]

Originally Posted by LizAEBN

I don't really give a shit about GMOs - there's a lotta noise about it, and has been, but frankly: Hi, read some Mendel. This isn't new stuff, and nature does it anyhow. If we dropped the chemical fertilisers and pesticides 'n all of that, we wouldn't even need to sweat how to make veggies that evade cutworm. 'Cos guess what? Tomatoes will BREED THEMSELVES to do it!
NEAT! Lookit nature GO.

[/rant]

Sorry for the hijack, but GAH, that bugs me.

I do most of my shopping "around the edges" of the store, 'cos I am a fan of doing things from the start - that way I know what's in my food.

The problem with gmo is more political in nature. Since companies have been able to patent life forms, firms like Mons anto have locked up crops.

Its in this film, but well known. Mon santo wants 100 per cent of all the soy crops in the world to be "owned" by them and they spare no expense protecting their patent. If you have a field next to a round up ready field and their is cross pollination and then you harvest the seeds, M onsanto will legally put you out of business for patent theft.

Which crop will be next? That is the issue. The food might be safe, but chemical companies will decide the source. Imagine the power of controlling food. It is ultimately more powerful than oil or information.

It doesn't matter if you abandon the centre aisles and shop the perimeter, you will lose the freedom to choose and ultimately the price you pay will be fixed and the free market goes out the window. It pretty much is at the moment, but soon the "pretty much" will be gone.

BTW, I am not guilt free. I once did a campaign for Monsan to on Round Up Ready. In my defense, it was before I understood the import of what they are actually doing.

[miz_wright]

Originally Posted by rhetorical

The problem with gmo is more political in nature. Since companies have been able to patent life forms, firms like Mons anto have locked up crops.

Its in this film, but well known. Mon santo wants 100 per cent of all the soy crops in the world to be "owned" by them and they spare no expense protecting their patent. If you have a field next to a round up ready field and their is cross pollination and then you harvest the seeds, M onsanto will legally put you out of business for patent theft.

Which crop will be next? That is the issue. The food might be safe, but chemical companies will decide the source. Imagine the power of controlling food. It is ultimately more powerful than oil or information.

It doesn't matter if you abandon the centre aisles and shop the perimeter, you will lose the freedom to choose and ultimately the price you pay will be fixed and the free market goes out the window. It pretty much is at the moment, but soon the "pretty much" will be gone.

BTW, I am not guilt free. I once did a campaign for Monsan to on Round Up Ready. In my defense, it was before I understood the import of what they are actually doing.

*nods*

M0ns@nto and C0n@gra and those chicken people are way up there in monopolising the food chain - and to me, that's the greater issue beyond the scare-tactics on the "frankenfood" argument (which is what we see most of here - much less about the ruthless nature of agribusiness and factory farming). I was thinking that's the direction you went w/ GMOs, not the monopolisation of food supply chains.

Kinda makes me long for the days of the victory gardens, honestly. And don't think I haven't given serious consideration to my own plot.

[softball]

Originally Posted by LizAEBN

*nods*

M0ns@nto and C0n@gra and those chicken people are way up there in monopolising the food chain - and to me, that's the greater issue beyond the scare-tactics on the "frankenfood" argument (which is what we see most of here - much less about the ruthless nature of agribusiness and factory farming). I was thinking that's the direction you went w/ GMOs, not the monopolisation of food supply chains.

Kinda makes me long for the days of the victory gardens, honestly. And don't think I haven't given serious consideration to my own plot.

I have a victory garden and it is amazing how much you can grow in a small space. It saves money, but more importantly, I know where the food is coming from. It may be gm, I have no idea. But next year, I am going to be more careful. Why not when you are doing it yourself. I also live right beside about ten farmer's markets which is amazing. I got involved in this because of the taste of the food and it just kind of spun out of control. Trust me, I am not some kind of wierd food nazi, but we eat better and feel better now.