The Red pill or the Blue pill?

If you have had the pleasure of seeing the movie "The Matrix," then you will remember the pivotal scene when Neo gets to choose whether or not he is going to travel down the rabbit hole and see the truth of his world. Well, I am giving you same choice in this post. If you take the Red pill, you may be exposed to some truths about what you are ingesting everyday, three times a day...if you take the Blue pill, then you can go to bed tonight and keep blindly consuming GMO (genetically modified) foods, nicely packaged "meat," and "food" that can hardly be considered food anymore. The choice is yours...

For those who have decided on the Red pill...down the rabbit hole we go.

Although I already know a lot about the "food" we eat everyday, I decided to broaden my horizons today and see the movie "Food Inc." If you have not seen it - you must. This film showed how most of the government agencies who are here to protect us (FDA, USDA, etc.) are influenced by a much higher power - corporations, a.k.a. MONEY. These corporations have taken absolute control over our most basic need - food. But, it doesn't stop there...

First, I will start with mass produced meat. If you have been reading my blog, you know that I already covered the treatment of animals in CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding organizations). But, one approach I really liked in the movie was the treatment of the employees who work at these CAFOs and slaughterhouses. The movie mentions that one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. is working at a slaughterhouse to process mass produced meat. These employees are usually immigrants, working for little pay, doing the same task over and over, while they try to keep up with machines that pump this "meat" out. This is a breeding ground for mistakes (mixing feces in with the meat) and accidents (employees getting hurt). Next, is the quality of the meat. Where do I even start? The meat you buy at the grocery store or at a nearby restaurant is from animals who are not being fed what evolution and nature intended them to eat. Cows are not supposed to eat corn and animal parts, they are supposed to eat grass. This corn diet makes them get fat fast and that's it. Feeding animals against nature's intentions has dramatic effects...like new strains of E. coli. Another point was the fact that this mass production of meat is mainly a mixture of science and technology. Where does agriculture come into play you ask? Well...nowhere. It turns out playing God has it's advantages on these companies' wallets and sometimes deadly disadvantages for those who are unfortunate enough to eat these corporations' products.

Moving on to our limited options as consumers. Most of the meat in the U.S. is supplied by five companies. Yes, five corporations have taken on providing American consumers with almost all of their meat. The days of going to the local farm and buying half a grass fed cow are gone my friends. Now farmers with limited options sign contracts with these corporations and produce "meat" that comes from animals who may never see the sunlight. As for other products in your local store or restaurant, the options and ingredients are even more limited. Basically everything we eat comes from GMO corn and soybeans. Although we are given the illusion of having unlimited options as we wander through the aisles picking our favorite products, we don't. No matter what brand you are getting (while thinking it's different than the other one right next to it), it is all going in the same pockets of corporate big wigs who just look at us like a profit margin and who want to keep their products as cost effective as possible.

Now, for the scariest part of this movie - the statistics. I really think I only need to mention one, which I found to be the most disturbing...1 in 3 children born in the U.S. will have onset diabetes, for minorities - 1 in 2. Why is this? Because healthy, natural food is not only expensive but it's also rare. So...where does that leave the single mother working two jobs to just pay rent? They are in line at the local fast food place, ordering off the dollar menu.

My personal fear did not stop at these stats...this movie also covered how these corporations are making it almost impossible for anyone to grow their own food. A common practice since the beginning of farming was saving seeds to grow crops for the next year. Not anymore...companies like Monsanto have now patented seeds to the point that it is illegal for farmers to keep their own seeds. If you are wondering how this could happen, "Food Inc." pointed out that many past Monsanto employees are now not only a part of the FDA, but even in the Supreme Court (Clarence Thomas). No wonder why these companies have enough power to limit freedom of speech (Oprah was sued for saying she would never eat another hamburger on her show), keep people out of CAFOs and keep consumers in the dark about what they are eating.

I think I will stop here so I don't give the whole movie away...but I will warn you now - viewing this movie and going even further down the rabbit hole will lead to a feeling of hopelessness and an empty stomach because of your limited, healthy options. Anyone who is really interested in ending the production and consumption of this corporate slop we are being fed, needs to take action. The government agencies who are there to protect our most basic need of eating, have been influenced (and are even run) by the corporations who are shoving these products in our faces. There is so much work to be done and all I wonder is where to start when so many people have no idea what is going on around them and the ones who try to fight it or learn more are very quickly quieted by lawsuits and other techniques. Our ability to produce our own healthy food is fleeting and our rights to speak out against these companies, about our choices as a consumer and the horrific treatment of animals and these companies employees has been squashed almost every time.

I am sure you understand what I mean by a feeling of hopelessness. But this rabbit hole can lead to a light...for me, my personal feelings of discouragement are cancelled out every time I go to the farmers' market or the whole foods store. This is because, as I consumer, I know I have a say. I have the right to choose what products to buy...and I know that it is my responsibility to vote with my pocket book. This probably explains why I feel like an absolute hypocrite whenever I buy pop. If only it was not there to tempt me - that is the ultimate goal.

NOTE: This movie is airing in a limited amount of theatres, so you may have to take a trip to see it. I promise you - it is well worth the drive. I am sure you don't need to ask why there are limited options for seeing this movie. But, if you don't understand - this documentary will open the eyes of the American people to the fact that they are being separated from their food and these corporations don't want you to know what you are eating.

The Decline

As anyone reading my blogs knows - I work on farm. This decision was what I thought (and think) could be my personal quest to "save the world." Many people in my generation have this desire or feel this obligation, but now I am beginning to lose hope. There is so much work to be done.

While time passes and I spend most of my days surrounded by nature, absorbed in my own journey, I recently exposed myself to the current mass media - cable TV. I do not have cable of my own, but while helping my boyfriend watch after his parents' dog I was sure to get my fix of what I have been missing. Before tuning to the History Channel, Discovery, Animal Planet and other loves of mine...I decided to do some personal research and see what the more mainstream channels had to offer (I consider these stations as the ones that are obviously directed towards the most desired age group of 18- to 35-years-old).

As I watched some of the reality shows (whose names I can't even remember) I came to a slight epiphany and realization of my own personal angst that has questioned: What the f#@%* am I doing? Am I crazy because I quit a cushy full-time job to work on an organic farm? Why aren't I interested in conforming? Why have I always felt like I don't fit in? Why doesn't "having things" interest me?

This epiphany includes many factors, but I feel that it can blamed (on a large part) on the fact that the Millennials (my generation) can also be called the "entitled generation." As I watched mainstream media, I saw we were (and still are) raised to believe that life works like this: Graduate from high school, get a degree, after that piece of paper every door will open for you, get a job in corporate America, buy things, make it your life's purpose to look cute (for girls) / make it your life's interest to find a hot girlfriend (for guys), get married, buy things, move to the suburbs where all the houses are the same, let the city chemically treat your tree lawn, have children who are raised by the local daycare and cable TV (because your yard is too small for them to play outside), buy things, give your children everything you never had including a cell phone at 10-years-old and the cycle continues...

For me, personally, those questions of doubt that arise are because this vicious cycle is what I have been exposed to in the latter part of my life (my parents were awesome and I was not overly exposed to this idea of the American Dream growing up). The realization of why I am doubting my non-conforming actions was refreshing, but it doesn't change the fact that American culture is collapsing. So many people in this country still look for happiness outside of themselves. Fulfillment to them is through their personal appearance and possessions. How did we stray so far from the basics? By basics I mean, a happy marriage, just being in love, having close relationships with those around you, eating dinner as a family, and parents turning off the TV, handing their kid a book or sending them outside to play with sticks (don't even get me started on the lack of imagination in so many American kids).

To be frank, if this is where American culture is headed - I don't want any part. I know I might sound like a slight anarchist or even elitist, but I don't care. There is so much work to be done to get this country back on track, but all this work needs to be done by the people (who seem to be on a steady decline). The fact that so many Americans are basically poisoning themselves with genetically modified foods, mass produced meat and bleached bread is a minor detail to a bigger problem - the American culture is in a large part composed of selfish, shallow and weak people. I know there are good people out there...I am speaking very generally and I am speaking from how the mass media portrays us as a whole (it's got to be based on something).

I think "kids my age" and I know that many of us have felt this feeling of uneasiness as the world almost seems to be collapsing around us. There is a reason for this - things are terrible. That "American Dream" that has been pushed on us will not be there in the next decade unless things change. According to the book "Generations" by William Strauss and Neil Howe, it is up to the Millennials to step up in these current times of crisis. All I can wonder as I see our culture, country, and environment collapsing all around me is - Will we all step up? Right now I am worried if the small number of motivated people in this apathetic majority that makes up most of the American population will be able to do enough to turn things around...

I guess I will just continue to do my part - refuse to conform and build a life around love, sustainability, and morals. Will you join me?

Connecting with your food

It has been awhile since my last post. The reason for this - that day, the other cow in the pictures (from the post below) suffered and died too. After a full afternoon of watching the other cow suffer, we later found that they both died of grass tetani. The vet informed us this was caused by someone spraying their lawn, likely to control dandelions. Yes, two pregnant cows died because someone wanted their grass to resemble that of a golf course. To get to the point, I was very upset about these cows' deaths. I couldn't even understand why I was tears, but I was. To me, this overly emotional response must have meant something...

So...as time went on, I read more about the treatment of animals on a mass produced scale and I finally decided I had to do something. But first, I had to know what I was talking about if I plan to take big agriculture down. I quit my full-time job in my field of journalism and got a couple freelancing gigs, kept a part-time position in my field and got two part-time jobs on farms. One is sustainable, one is certified organic.

It has been about month and besides constantly sore muscles, early mornings and some sunburn I am learning so much and loving every minute I am in the dirt. At this point, there are too many stories to recap and if I try to quickly go over them, it won't do the situations any justice...like when I battled a pygmy goat on my first day at the organic farm or when about five Amish boys completely cleared a greenhouse of weeds in five minutes when I had been in there picking for over an hour.

Really, this post is an intro to what's to come in my journey to become a farmer. Everyday I work, I come home with a new love for nature and its bounty. Most people don't understand how liberating it is to sit down to a meal and know exactly where everything on your plate came from. When I am forced to go to the grocery store, I later find myself washing the California cherries I bought, with my imagination running rampant. The whole time I am trying to imagine their journey from the Cali fields, to a store in Ohio, to my sink. Were they sprayed? Are they genetically modified in any way? Were they picked before they were ripe and gassed to give them that deep red color? How much life energy is really in this aesthetically pleasing cherry? These questions also probably explain why absolutely no mass produced meat has found its way to my plate in months and why I am teetering on vegetarianism.

Since I got sick of "waiting for life to happen," I have completely immersed myself in farming - trying to expose myself to as much as possible (including going to a slaughterhouse kill floor that looked like I had walked into the wrong room in the movie Hostel). My goal is to learn as much as I can and pass it on to you. I also hope as I make this move away from the corporate slop we have become accustomed to eating, that others will follow and also connect with their food. So...if you want to feel the liberation I have found - keep reading and join this cause for healthier, natural food.