(photo from val's photos on flickr)
Before taking this class I was just your average consumer, blissfully unaware of what was happening with my food- where it comes from, what is in it, what has happened to it in the production process and so forth. Thankfully this class has really opened my eyes and I am now more aware about my food and able to make better decisions and inform others of my newfound knowledge.
Starting this journey I began to read Ruth Ozeki's book, All Over Creation. As I read I was delighted by the plot, moved by the writing, and fascinated by the content regarding plants, genetic modification and the like. Since I had never heard of these things before, it seemed a kind of science fiction, yet in my heart I felt that there was something to this strange information. It still remained distant however. That is until I watched The Future of Food.
The Future of Food was rather appalling. The information I gleaned from that movie brought Ozeki's book to life for me. As I read the book, I was drawn toward the community building that took place, the sense that we are all in this together, and the recognition that if we work together we can make change happen. As a girl from a small town, a farming and dairy community, that attitude really resonates with me. I would love it if we could all work together and change numerous things about our society. But I digress.
While the book struck those particular chords within me, the movie struck my sense of morals, my love of life and creation, my disgust for corporate America and the power of power and money. It made me sick to see the destruction of small farmers and their life works, the industrialization of our life force, the patenting of life. Its really disturbing stuff. I think that film affected me much more than the book simply because it brought it all to life, it made it real for me. Another thing that really disturbed me is that I believe the vast majority of the public have no idea what is happening with their food. Like me, they take it for granted, they assume that because it is on the shelves, on the market, in the stores that it is safe. You never think of the people who grow our food, who produce our food and the risks and losses that they take in order to provide for us. I find that aspect of it one of the biggest disgraces.
We should return to a place where we honestly appreciate where our food comes from, appreciate the people who provide it to us, and return to a time where food is the people's market- not the corporations' or the government's. I truly believe that one way to get to this place and time is through the disbursement of information. As we have seen through the video and in the book, the power of the people can be strong, but the people need to have the information they need to make informed, good decisions. Perhaps we can get there if we spread the word.
