Food Inc...

I've just watched Food Inc again. What a fascinating observation of today's society. The documentary takes us along the industrial food chain from food lot to slaughter house to Monsanto and how our food has changed over the years.

I've long been a proponent of local food and spent many happy Saturdays at local farmers markets and seeking out local food vendors. The idea of the industrial farm scares me more and more, particularly when I watch such powerful films as Food Inc. Every year, we hear of more and more massive food scares and I daily receive updates from the FDA on food recalls in the USA. We live in a frightening time. Obesity is on the rise and there is a huge public health issue that travels along with this. How can we stop this?

Food Inc suggests that the industrial farm is a HUGE problem, along with the big industrial food companies. I bet, if you walk around the supermarket and look at all the pre-packaged, snack foods and tinned goods, along with the shrink-wrapped meat, you'll find the names of but a few companies. Sad, when you think that many of the smaller producers have been swallowed up by these big companies, even sadder when you consider what it might take for these few companies to have problems with their factories or transportation systems. What would be the outcome of all this? Food shortages in North America and Europe?

I have been thinking about these things for many years now. The cost of oil seems to be growing and growing. Food is getting more and more expensive, especially the cost of good, nutritious food. Fresh, nutritious food seems to be more expensive than the mass produced stuff, which to me is even scarier.

All this tells me that it makes more and more sense to grow your own food. Talk to the local farmers and see what they can offer us, vote with our wallets at supermarkets and demand more locally grown produce. I'm going to be starting a neighbourhood gardening project in the Sault this year, which has many in the community excited for the possibilities of cheap and fresh produce for their kids this Summer.