A Little Addition

I've been talking a lot to people about the documentary, Food Inc. I know I wrote a long entry about it a few days ago, but I felt like I needed to add a few clarifications.

First of all, the movie is about what you eat and how it effects your health, but that is not the sole purpose of it. It is very complex, dealing with a multitude of issues - animal rights, human rights, consumer rights, ethics on multiple levels, not just physical health.

Secondly, it has nothing to do with political party. It is not democratic or republican or (God forbid!) socialist! It's a documentary. It's journalism meant to uncover the truth behind big business, monopolies, greed and government corruption. It's not a political statement period, it's a statement of, again, ethics. No one I have talked to has suggested that I am promoting politics, but one person did point out that people tend to think that these kinds of documentaries are radical. He was right in that observation, and I agree with him. This is not a political soap box. It's an ethical one!

It also talks a lot about the meat industries - pork, beef and poultry, but those are not the only industries effected by such tragic big government, big business thinking. The corruption has infiltrated produce as well, and by produce, I mean in large part, corn, which is in practically everything we eat from corn syrup to chewing gum to dog food to motrin. It's even in non-food items. So even if you are a vegetarian, you are not exempt from the victimizations of these organizations.

That's my last plug for the film. You need to watch it for yourself. I wish those of you who have seen it would comment here on my blog so other people besides me can hear what you have to say. I think that once you see it, you won't need to hear my rantings to persuade your purchases, and you will definitely have a better understanding of where I am coming from.

Future food posts will just be about things my family is doing to overcome the many hurdles we face, as consumers. Watching the film, it is very apparent that there is absolutely no way to completely remove yourself from the evils of society, short of buying land on a mountain side and becoming completely self sufficient. Well, that's not going to happen. So, like many other aspects of our lives, we will try to find the balance that works best for us, the one we are most comfortable with, with the knowledge that each day brings the opportunity to gather more information, to make more changes, to share our discoveries with others and above all, to be grateful for being blessed with the possibilities to make these changes.