Eat as if your life depended on it.

That was the sentiment behind the showing of Food Inc. last night at the Cedar Lee Theatre on Monday evening.

It is hard to sum up my complete confusion of the situation. I remember a day when I was sitting at a holiday table listening to a family of farmers talk about how they would never buy into Monsanto's GMO soybeans due to the legal speak that even back then they knew was scary, but to see how a basic expectation of our government (ie. safe food) is so tied up in special interest that it truly hampers the free market system that we so claim to depend on to save our souls is angering.

For those of you familiar with Michael Pollan you will hear familiar tones throughout the movie which does not so much shake your belief in the system (you have all heard it before) as it gives it a face. A bunch of faces. Not just animal faces, but hard working human faces. Suffering, sadness, despair, frustration and hope.

The movie wasn't as gory as I had anticipated. There was some blood and ground meat and people cutting meat and sad lookin' critters that I had probably actually eaten but it wasn't gore as in to shock as it was simply a look inside this world that so few think about.

Why is most chicken sold at the store boneless?
How many actual different cows are in one burger patty?
How much corn derived food did you eat today?

That was the scary part. This movie isn't meant to scare or persuade someone from eating meat. Heck, Eric Schlosser, eats one of the messiest burgers I have seen in a while, but to raise awareness that there are huge faceless corporations which make most of what you eat, process it in large scale operations and constantly work government to loosen accountability. Meat isn't murder. Processed food is.

Granted the opening was speaking to the converted although I would like to share a couple questions that arose during the panel discussion afterwards.

-In answer to a question regarding how people can affect change the answer was given by voting with our dollars. When the masses have to be informed that they, as the masses, have the power to change the system, we must realize how disparate and frustrated we have become.

-How can we (as a city even) overcome the economic disparity, geographic isolation and lack of knowledge that compound the dangers of this nutritional failure? How can we identify and correct food deserts? How can we further create an better informed public? How can we better bridge the economic gap? (City Fresh is a great program, maybe more people need to help).

-If a governmental body, whose sole purpose is to keep us safe, be it from foreign powers and/or corporations (granted some corporations are more powerful than some sovereign nations), then what rebellion of sorts can be considered a reasonable recourse?

-What is the true cost of corn to the consumer, including subsidies and government intervention, ie. what would the cost to the consumer really be if the free market system were allowed to operate?

More resources:
Movie: The Future of Food on Hulu, you can watch it on your computer (im gonna, eventually)

Polycultures: Food where we live was on sale at the showing. I bought a copy. Will try to get Ted E. Bear of Cleveland Movie Night to show it.

PBS Harvest of Fear

FTCLDF: Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund