My thoughts on food (and Food Inc)

I went to see Food Inc on Sunday, thanks to a good friend who invited me. The movie was riveting. It was propoganda, for sure. But I tend to agree with the filmmaker's point-of-view.

I think the scene-stealing star of the film is Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in Virginia. His no-nonsense, intelligent demeanor is engaging and compelling.

There was a panel of local experts that answered questions after the movie. It was an interesting discussion and reminded me that we have some great resources in our metro area, we just need to remember to utilize them rather than blindly going to the giant grocery store.

Here's my laundry list of the five biggest problems with our food:

1. We, as Americans, eat far too much meat. I'm not saying we should all be vegetarians but meat should be a small component of our diet, not the whole thing.
2. The way animals are treated in large industrial farms would shock most people. Chickens, cattle and hogs are often treated like products, not living things.
3. Our food, especially meats, are processed in too few plants, which poses a major health risk from things like salmonela and ecoli.
4. We eat too much corn and corn by-products. Almost everything we eat is tied to corn in some way. The animals we eat are fed corn (even though that's not their natural diet and it's not helathy for them). We are bombarded with corn and corn by-products in almost everything (high fructose corn syrup, dextrin, maltodextrin, mono- and di-glycerides, xanthan gum and more).
5. Our food has been engineered to last longer, rather than to taste better and be healthier for us.

I encourage everyone to get involved with a CSA (comunity supported agriculture) farm. I joined one last year with a friend and we got fresh, local, organic produce every weekend. I was able to pick up my produce about a mile from my home, no further than the local supermarket.

Support your local farmers’ market. The Downtown Phoenix Public Market is thriving and has a great selection of items.

Books I Recommend

The Omnivore’s Dilemma

In Defense of Food

Fast Food Nation

Movie Links

Chipotle Sponsored Showings of Food Inc

Official Food Inc Site

NPR Review of Food Inc

Local Links

Downtown Phoenix Public Market

Community Food Connections

Slow Foods Phoenix

Local Harvest

Desert Roots Farm

Crooked Sky Farms

Maya’s Farm

Queen Creek Olive Mill

The Urban Farm

Comments

[Mackeran]

Hmm... I read blogs on a similar topic, but i never visited your blog. I added it to favorites and i'll be your constant reader.

[tekchic]

Great post! Food Inc with the local panel discussion afterward was quite the eye opener. We also belong to a CSA and it's one of the best things we've ever done. Fresh fruits and vegetables every Wednesday, almost more than we can eat. We also now buy our beef and lamb from JH Ranch which is local to AZ. Grass-fed and all-natural meat is a good thing.

Thanks for the good local links!