In preparation for seeing "Food, Inc." I listened to a January interview that Bob Edwards did with Michael Pollan. (You can find them in iTunes or on Bob Edwards' site...well worth a look!) It was interesting to hear someone discuss "food" without all the hype and hyperbole that so often accompanies the subject. (I've just recently visited a family member and their dedication to avoid soy was immense!)
During the last six months my husband and I have slowly, but surely, transformed our lifelong eating habits. We sit together for three meals a day. We eat mostly fresh foods. I cook everything here. We eat balanced meals and small portions. Most of the food is organic. (I'm sure way too much is soy-based for some people) And, at least half of every meal is fresh fruit or fresh vegetable.
Not surprisingly, we have lost weight. We feel better. Doing it together makes it easier. It seems to be a new habit.
I say this because I felt glad that I'd already made some of the changes Pollan recommends in his Bob Edwards Interview.
Then I saw the movie. Wow - what a movie!
It's not scary - it's entertaining and well done. It is sad. Sure, I knew the animals suffered, but the people! I was struck by how our food industry is crushing the people: the farmers, the workers and the consumers. It is scandalous that we have allowed our government regulators to be manned (mostly at the top) with industry lobbyists and lawyers. Including a Supreme Court Justice who was a Monsanto Lawyer - and just happened to write the opinion giving Monsanto the right to patent seeds that it genetically modifies.
And people - all the seeds are being genetically modified. "Bigger, better, fatter, cheaper" has definitely replaced "In God We Trust" - the atheists need not worry about words on a coin. It is definitely not our motto.
Go see the movie. And let me know if you finished your popcorn! :) I did. However, I may have been the only one in the theater with a bag!
I like Pollan's approach to food, and he's a good investigative journalist. (Complete with a journalists' selective use of "science" as a both a pejorative and a colorful crutch, but it's a minor peeve because I generally agree with his views.) Check out The Omnivore's Dilemma, if you haven't.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is going to be reading more about junk food for her summer reading. Good.
K
I bought his books (both of the ones that are Kindle editions) and plan to read them on my trip west.
ReplyDeleteI've learned some good stuff from my kids as they've grown up... they ended up opening my eyes to so many things. That wasn't how *I* was raised, but it ends up being how we did things here.
And I think we're all the better for it.
If your daughter writes any poetry about food, I'd LOVE to read it!