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FOOD, Inc.

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PureCountry

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Messages
2,684
Location
Edgewood, BC, moving to Hardisty, AB
The wife found the movie "FOOD, Inc." in Wal-Mart and bought a copy. We watched it last night, and I have to say it's the only good thing my money has ever paid for in Wally World.

If you can, get a copy and watch it. Whether you're a farmer or not, watch it. Then buy copies and give to friends and family, trust me, you'll want to after the first 10 minutes.

It talks about intensive livestock and food production, and does embelish a little here and there, saying things like, "Cattle in feedlots stand in mud and feces all day." Technically true, but sounds alot worse than it is. It does bring to light some terrible things that the beef industry at its best is trying to correct, but we all know - and hopefully can admit - that there is a great deal of room for improvement.

They interview a man who has invented a system for "washing" a product with an ammonia solution to kill bacteria like E.Coli 0157H7 and others. The product they wash - "Hamburger Meat Filler". It's enought to make you gag.

Another interesting tidbit that I was totally unaware of, is how much control Monsanto has over the American Soybean. They control it, lock stock and barrel. According to research done for the movie, over 90% of ALL SOYBEANS IN THE US, have Monsanto's GM gene in them. Some farmers who do not grow their product, have had their fields contaminated with GMO soybeans from the neighbours, and Monsanto has sued them for patent infringement - AND WON.

Scary friggin world we live in. I'm amazed that this movie got out to be honest. Makes me want to sell every damn bit of beef I can and get the message out there to more and more people to pay attention to where they spend their grocery dollars.
 
My brother jealously hoards his "farmer seed" soybeans. He does not know how long it will last. He tried Monsanto many years ago - they came out and vaccuumed his bins - he kicked them off at that point.

Wind and bees and other insects transport the genetic modified parts to fields that are not modified - suddenly you have genetically modified crops and yes - you WILL lose when they take you to court.

I will not attend Monsanto sponsored events and in my part of the world there are several organizations that will not allow them to sponsor portions of the events taking place

You would be - perhaps not now - amazed at how powerful they are and they continue their work to patent once common seeds.

They will be strong in the roundup ready alfalfa biz someday - you may have to buy your seed from them - or a subsidiary - to plant hay - sound far fetched? Be ready.

BC
 
Can't wait to see it! I read about the movie, and I think I'd like to get as many copies as possible to get out to our beef, chicken, and egg folks. I think they may truly come to appreciate how we raise our livestock. As far as Monsanto, sounds like things are really getting bad. I myself plan on trying to take seed from my oats and wheat next year so that I don't have to buy it. I looked at a site the other day that sells open pollinated corn. They were already sold out of everything for next spring's planting season!!

Oops, an edit, I myself have not bought Monsanto stuff (that I know of) as I use a local seed company. But it certainly sounds critical.
 
Didn't Monsanto sue some Alberta farmers over the same thing a few years ago and win as well..

Hubby and myself are looking forward to watching this movie. I have heard as well that you really have to take alot of what was filmed with a grain of salt.
 
hillsdown said:
Didn't Monsanto sue some Alberta farmers over the same thing a few years ago and win as well..

Hubby and myself are looking forward to watching this movie. I have heard as well that you really have to take alot of what was filmed with a grain of salt.
Click to expand...

I did because it is a bias view but some of it really was eye opening.
 
hillsdown said:
Didn't Monsanto sue some Alberta farmers over the same thing a few years ago and win as well..

Hubby and myself are looking forward to watching this movie. I have heard as well that you really have to take alot of what was filmed with a grain of salt.
Click to expand...

http://www.percyschmeiser.com/conflict.htm

BC
 
So couldn't those bullies sue me as well. I bought canola bales last year and they have voluntarily decided to come up in my feeding area as well as my beautiful shale driveway. After spraying with round up and nothing happening the light bulb went off. I finally got most of it with a very strong solution of 24d but more will come up and I have bales left to feed. Never again ,, what a pita...
 
Got an email from Netflix that I should have it here tomorrow, maybe I should just go buy it.

It's interesting to look back to my days at Cornell and how I was so blind to the power these companies had and how I spoke on their defense. One of the older professors Dale Bauman, http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/faculty/bauman.html was the guy who invented rBST, now distributed by Monsanto as Posilac. Cornell did admit that we can't compete on the world market with milk, New Zealand kills us because of a lower cost of production (grazing). But we're more productive...It's all this attitude that we have the cheapest most abundant food supply in the world. We're the worlds bread basket. As Regan said, Government is not the solution, they are the problem. I think agriculture, the government and companies like Cargill and Monsanto are one of the closest things we have to Fascism to date.
 
Film: The World According To Monsanto (1 hour, 48 min)

The gigantic bio-tech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years.

http://dprogram.net/2009/02/18/film-the-world-according-to-monsanto/

***click on the link and let it download for a bit, if you don't have high speed***
 
I'm glad that in Canada the National Farmers Union has been fighting these battles for producers - they stood alone on the issue of rBST and were successful in preventing it being introduced here. They have also fought long and hard on the GM Wheat issue.
You've got to wonder why Walmart would stock the DVD in question. Maybe its a precursor to them launching an ethical food range? :roll: :-) :-) And Purecountry what was your wife doing shopping in Walmart :shock: :wink:
 
Grassfarmer said:
I'm glad that in Canada the National Farmers Union has been fighting these battles for producers - they stood alone on the issue of rBST and were successful in preventing it being introduced here. They have also fought long and hard on the GM Wheat issue.
You've got to wonder why Walmart would stock the DVD in question. Maybe its a precursor to them launching an ethical food range? :roll: :-) :-) And Purecountry what was your wife doing shopping in Walmart :shock: :wink:
Click to expand...

I'm with you on all points.
 
I wouldn't disagree that Monsanto plays dirty. That being said, I find it hard to celebrate any type of medium going out to the general public, those consuming our product, that is going to hurt (and not help) beef consumption.

Was this flick produced by the same bunch that did the Al Gore movie? I read that it was.

As far as the other link, as soon as it started out as a hit piece against DDT, knowing that those that worked to have it banned have the deaths of millions of malaria victims to their credit, I quit watching.
 
Let the customer see pictures of how my beef is produced and how feedlot finished beef is produced, from birth to slaughter, at every stage. Give an un-biased, facts only look and let them decide what they want to purchace. I simply believe in transparency of the product I produce.
 
Cal said:
I wouldn't disagree that Monsanto plays dirty. That being said, I find it hard to celebrate any type of medium going out to the general public, those consuming our product, that is going to hurt (and not help) beef consumption.

Was this flick produced by the same bunch that did the Al Gore movie? I read that it was.

As far as the other link, as soon as it started out as a hit piece against DDT, knowing that those that worked to have it banned have the deaths of millions of malaria victims to their credit, I quit watching.
Click to expand...


I understand your point. The video does go on to offer an explanation on the Monsanto patent/lawsuit issue.
 
Just finished the film. I'm about speechless. I think they hit the nail on the head. Monsanto is my new enemy, right up there with Progressives.

I've said this before, we're wasting our time arresting illegal immigrants, throw those that hire them in jail, all the way up the ladder.
 
Ben H said:
Let the customer see pictures of how my beef is produced and how feedlot finished beef is produced, from birth to slaughter, at every stage. Give an un-biased, facts only look and let them decide what they want to purchace. I simply believe in transparency of the product I produce.
Click to expand...
I don't believe that's what we're talking about here. We're talking about a flik that contains bias and embilishments. The possibility of creating an Oprah cheeseburger moment is not beneficial to any of us. If there are procedures that need to be changed then the right channels and organizations need to be used. Trying to gross out or scare consumers , even to steer them to a nich market, is risky and short-sighted, with the possibility of creating a decline in total consumption.
 
What you quoted is what I wrote prior to watching the film, my point is that food producers should never fear transparency, if they do something is wrong. The film brings up the exact point your trying to make. "If there are procedures that need to be changed then the right channels and organizations need to be used." I do not support our cheap food policy and I do not support a small handful of companies being in bed with the government to form the regulations to benefit them and make slaves of producers. The system that has been created is the problem. I'm a free market guy, but I do not compete in a free market. I'm competing against beef that is cheap only because of subsidies on the inputs. I don't want to just reform some of the procedures being done, I want it reformed all the way to the top. Eliminate the lobbying power these companies have.

I do not believe in this attitude that consumer can't think for themselves, that some people in an office no better then them. That's how progressives think and I reject it. This isn't about some happy hamburger to me, it's about control.
 
http://www.drovers.com/news_editorial.asp?pgID=675&ed_id=5609

Thanks to modern technology and research advances, one farmer today is able to produce enough food to feed 144 people, almost 100 more than just 50 years ago. This fact is important because of the 300 million people living in the U.S., less than two million - or less than 2% - are directly involved in raising animals and crops to feed our entire nation.

When critics of this modern miracle produce movies like the recently released Food Inc., it is not only an assault on American farmers and ranchers, but it is also an assault on families who cannot afford - or simply do not choose - products that cost more just because of the method in which they were produced. This documentary-style movie is one-sided, negative and misleading about the way food is produced and sold in the U.S.

The filmmaker promotes the organic and local niches to become the dominant way of producing food, but he completely fails to disclose the impact this vision would have on worldwide food supplies and on farmers' and ranchers' ability to grow ample food supplies. Worse yet, the film suggests that affordable food is nothing to brag about, and consumers should be willing to pay more for food that is produced in systems that the film advocates.

Especially in today's economic climate, we consider that approach to food affordability incredibly elitist. Such elitism may appeal to those who can afford it, but for the vast number of Americans, the approaches advocated in the movie will further ratchet up the financial stresses they already feel in their everyday lives, with no proven benefits to their overall well-being. What's more, most American families are on very tight budgets, especially as the unemployment rate swells to nearly 10%. Now, more than ever, it is important for food to remain affordable.

Consumers who wish to buy the organic or local foods like those featured in the film should have that choice, but safe, nutritious and affordable food for everyone should remain the most important feature of our nation's food system. The Animal Agriculture Alliance finds the movie's misleading information about how today's wholesome, nutritious and abundant food supply is produced offensive.

Today's farmers and ranchers have a responsibility to feed our nation's 300 million people. Fortunately, American farmers and ranchers are able to produce enough food to feed not only the population of the U.S. - and do so at the lowest cost of any developed nation - but they are also able to export food to many other nations which are unable to feed their growing populations.

The productivity of the farmers and ranchers that provide us with meat, milk and eggs is not the result of irresponsible or inhumane practices, but rather decades of hard work, scientific study, innovation in animal care, in depth examination of animal nutrition and thoughtful use of natural resources.

Farmers' and ranchers' highest priority is to produce food in a manner that is responsible to the animals, the environment, their employees, and consumers. For the facts about food is produced in the U.S., visit www.safefoodinc.com. Additional information about farmers', ranchers', feed and food producers' commitment to their animals, their land, public health and food safety can be found on the Alliance's website at www.animalagalliance.org.



From Farm Bureau Blog:

Agriculture is under attack. No it isn't an attack by insects, droughts or other pests. Those attacks we can fend off on our own, we are used to things out of our control. No, this attack is in the form of a movie called "Food Inc." It is a sensationalized, full-on attack of the farmers and ranchers who utilized modern technology to produce the most wholesome, abundant supply of food in the world. If you a member of the agriculture community I am asking you to share our story with your non-ag friends and associates. Education is the key to stemming this tide mis-informed, anti-ag messages.

For those of you who do not have close ag ties, I want to tell you about my neighbors and myself. Most of us have farming and ranching deeply in grained in our roots. In many cases, we have owned the land for several generations and there are as many as three to four generations currently working that piece of land. We have grown-up working alongside our parents and grandparents and now work everyday with our children.

All of my neighbors have a deep love of the land and strive to be the best stewards of it. We seek out the latest methods of conserving and protecting our lands and saving them for the next generation. We take great pride in the beauty that surrounds us on a daily basis. In short, farmers and ranchers are the ultimate conservationists.

While we revel in our past and the history that surrounds us, we also realize our commitment to society. We utilize the latest technology to produce more food and fiber with less land and fewer inputs. Advances in technology actually make us better, safer (both for humans and the environment) and more efficient. We realize we feed all of humanity and take great pride in doing so.

We are the ones who provide the income and the tax base for most of our rural counties, who in turn provide much of the support for all of the United States. We cannot continue to prosper without a strong agricultural base in this country. In the words of Ben Boyd, a peanut farmer from Georgia and a good friend, "If you like being dependant on foreign oil, your really going to love foreign food".

So let's stand up to the people who created this piece of fiction and to the celebrities who endorse it. I would venture most of them have never known what it was like to go without. We need to make sure that the story of agriculture is told by those who know and understand. If you do not know a farmer or rancher, I encourage you to take a trip and visit one of my friends and truly listen and watch them. I guarantee that you will have a whole new appreciation for the food on your table.
 

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