Food, Inc.

So I know this is my second post in a day...technically not since it's nearly 1:30 am, but whathaveyou. 

I just watched the documentary Food, Inc.  It was nominated for an Oscar this year - didn't win and I can see why now that I've watched it.  It just lacked a certain...something.  However, it was compelling and I highly recommend that you all go download/buy/rent it and watch it tomorrow.  I'm not kidding.  Cut an hour and a half out of your time this week to watch this documentary.  It may change or even save your life.

I don't want to spoil what the documentary is about (mostly because I want you to WATCH IT), but I will say that it struck a nerve with me.  More than that, it inspired emotion in me.  At the end, I was upset at the food industry, concerned for my own well-being, saddened by the fortunes of people who work in the food industry or don't make enough money to break the shackles of the Dollar Menu, and at the end I came away with a fire lit under my ass.  It's a big fire, and I want to light your asses on fire, too.

Educate yourselves.  Don't be a mindless cow wandering through the aisles of Walmart like a deer in headlights, blinded by the pretty packaging and empty promises of the wrappers of the food you're putting in your mouth.  In this online community, we are all aware of what we eat, but I challenge you to take it one step further.  Learn exactly what's in your food.  Learn where your food comes from.  Learn who processes your food and who distributes it.  Learn and see if your food has been genetically modified.  Most of all, learn who makes your food.  Read the labels.  If there's anything you can't pronounce, choose something else when you can.  If you can pronounce it but you don't know what it is, choose something else when you can.  Buy local.  Buy organic.  Buy from farmer's markets.  Better yet, grow your own food.  Do you know what a broccoli plant actually looks like?  Do you know what a real chicken looks like?  Do you know how cheese is made?  Educate yourselves about what you're eating - it is your most basic right.

Please don't assume I'm trying to preach to you, because this is just as much of a challenge to myself as it is to you.  Only three of four years ago did I actually see a broccoli plant for the first time.  That day I saw real broccoli, real zucchini, real tomatoes, real beans, real corn.  It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I vaguely understood that organic = good.  It wasn't until an hour ago that I really cared.

I understand that buying real, whole food is expensive for people with tight budgets.  Having grown up half the time on welfare and food stamps, I know what is cheapest is what's going to be bought in every situation.  But maybe pull a little of your income from other things - that movie night, that pizza delivery, that new purse - and buy real, good, really good food.  By doing this, you are not only nourishing yourself, but you are nourishing the community of people who want to live well on wholesome food, and you are nourishing the planet.  Buy a new, organic vegetable a week and cook dinner with your family, even on Saturday night when your fourteen-year old daughter wants to go out with a boy in a car, your husband is exhausted from work, and all you want to do is pop in a TV dinner and watch TV.  Personally, even though I have 3294837238939 things to save money for, I am going to spend more money on better food to feed myself and whoever else wants to eat with me, to nourish my planet, and to invest in my community.  I will be  staple of farmer's markets this summer; I'm going to look into my local government to see if I can get a small piece of land to grow my own garden.

There is a huge detachment from us and our food in this country, and I find it unsettling, even disturbing. 

Again, I'm not trying to preach.  I feel passionate about this.  My eyes have finally been fully opened and I'm ready to start challenging myself to really know the most basic of things - what I'm eating.  I hope you'll do the same.