Documentary: Food Inc

[fullautovalmet76]

I watched this 2008(?) documentary a few weeks ago and it made me think. Today what is known as "organic", is the way my family grew crops over 50 years. But this documentary gets one, I think, to consider how and where our food comes from. I have felt for some time that our greatest national security threat was not the Soviets, Red Chinese, or brand "Al-Qaeda", but from the disappearing family farm in America. This documentary looks at this situation and gives an argument for consumers to change their buying practices. I know some will disagree with some of the points of view in this documentary, but I think one will be better informed about their food. God knows the media will not give it to you straight.....

For the attention deficit crowd (Quaker)  , here's the film broken in to several parts:

For the rest of you, here's the full version:

And no, I'm not about to go hug a tree or become a herbivore....... 

[Pathfinder]

Good points, and a good documentary, FA. If this doesn't make you want to dig up your yard and convert it all to a garden, nothing will!

The corporate food chain is ugly with additives and chemical substitutes. On top of that, GMO (genetically modified organism) is Frankenstein-ish in its manipulations of food. Wheat with fish genes? Huh? ? ? Plants that can absorb Roundup (poison) and not die, then get harvested and fed to us? All approved by our friends in DC working at the FDA with minimal testing - who, if they do it right, will get cushy high-paying jobs with the Monsantos of this world, if in fact they didn't come from there.

[Solus]

We (people in general) pay for choosing cheap over quality.

If interested check out the difference in grass fed beef over grain fed beef.

Grass fed takes more land and, thus, is more expensive, but the differences in nutrition are great.

Cholesterol balance between good and bad is reversed between the two, with grass fed making that kind of beef one of the best and healthiest options for getting complete protein.


If you want to do gardening, check out the French Intensive method, also called double-dug.  The plot is 5ft wide and as long as you need to make it.  It is 'double dug" with the soil loosened to a depth of 2 feet.  You weed and tend from the edges and never pack down the plot.  It causes the veggies to grow in a trough that holds water and nutrients.  

The plants can be space at about half that recommended for shallow tilled gardens providing twice the produce per sq. ft.  This also reduces weed growth.  

You will also want to look into what they call "Heirloom" seeds.  These are seed that, unlike the hybrids you buy from the big companies, will produce seeds that will germinate for the next seasons crops.  Have to be careful of your neighbors garden because if they use hybrids and cross pollination your seeds may not germinate next season.