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Food, Inc.
Watched Food, Inc. for the first time with FH yesterday (I know, I know, I'm totally behind the times, lol. But I don't watch TV, and I don't catch many movies!) and I've got to say... I knew pretty much most of what was in there, but for some reason it still really upset me. Although I did learn quite a bit about Monsanto, my knowledge of them was kinda limited. But seeing how they were just abusing the animals and such, kicking chickens around like footballs, running just hatched chicks through a factory machine like they were just items being produced, not living things... ugh. I hate seeing that stuff.
FH posted on his facebook after watching it, that we'd seen it and that others should too, learn from it and change how they're living. Some folks didn't like that, and started talking about how that stuff is all "crap that's made up by liberal hippie treehuggers with no brains", things like that. I just don't understand it. They SEE the evidence before their eyes, and they still say that it's not true. Why are people honestly arguing for us to continue poisoning our food, torturing animals just so they can get a big mac or chicken mcnuggets anytime of the day or night, etc? It's honestly really confusing to me.
Did that movie teach anybody else anything when they saw it? Anyone change the way they were living upon seeing it? I know we're definitely going to be buying a lot more at whole foods from now on, even if it IS a long drive, and it IS highly expensive.
Re: Food, Inc.
Like you, when I saw the movie, I already knew a lot of the information. I try to buy free-range meats now, which meant cutting out chicken breasts (they cost 3x as much for free range!!) My husband and I do try to eat more vegetarian also.
But I think a lot of people just do not want to admit that we are responsible for how we got here and to reverse it, it takes change and probably lots of $$. So they convince themselves with "these leftists exaggerate stuff" arguments.
However, the absolute worst argument to me is "Who cares? We're going to eat them anyway." That just shows that they KNOW how bad animals are treated but they truly do not care. That's just heartless and immoral.
I didn't know much about Monsanto before I saw that movie, but I was pretty familiar with the rest of the info. I've been vegetarian for about 15 years and have used cruelty free products for most of that time. Before watching that movie, I really struggled with explaining to DH why I used cruelty free products and why I wanted him to buy meat from local farms where we knew animals were treated well. He would grudgingly go along with it but it was a struggle. Since watching that movie, he gets it and is proud of the food we buy. He actually explains it to other people.
The other big change we've made is to buy as much organic food as we can. We used to buy organic produce but now almost everything is organic. We are fortunate to live in an area with a high number of co-ops and local farms who are either certified organic or follow organic principles.
We have a horrible creeping charlie problem in our lawn and after 4 years of failure with "natural" remedies, turned to chemicals last summer. DH was adamant that we not use something made by Monsanto. I was really proud of him, especially considering where he started.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
Yes, I cannot stand Monsanto. I've switched to organic soymilk, but my husband still likes regular milk. So we started buying organic milk, mainly Organic Valley. Then someone on this board showed me this site
http://www.cornucopia.org/2008/01/dairy-report-and-scorecard/
Ok, now I shouldn't buy from Organic Valley. Instead, I now have to drive out to Whole Foods. These big corporations make doing the right thing SO difficult!
Why would you stop buying Organic Valley? Their rating is 4/5.
To the OP -
Food Inc was the catalyst for my husband and me to make a lot of lifestyle changes, including the food we eat. I used to read labels but now I really scrutinize every product I buy. We did not cut out meat, but we cut back and are only buying from local, responsible farmers. Our milk/yogurt also comes from a local, organic farm. All of our produce now is organic as well as most of our grocery items. We shop at Whole Foods and yes, while it is more expensive, I find myself really paying attention to what I put in the cart. I'll buy smaller quantities of things and will also try and stretch things a little bit further and I find we have less food waste now.
My husband was also slightly hesitant at first, but now he also reads and understands labels and is proud that we support local farms and tells people about the importance of it.
#1 12.11.11
#2 10.23.13 EDD
Oops, I meant Horizon brand - the one with the happy cow across their brand name!! My grocery store does not stock Organic Valley so I have to go out to Whole Foods to get Organic Valley or Whole Food brand milk.
It was my tipping point to become vegetarian. Glad to see others are in the same boat.
Yay! One more convert to the "Monsanto is the DEVIL" team. I should make t-shirts or something...
Anywho, like the PP Food Inc. didn't tell me much that I didn't already know. It just reaffirmed my belief that the only way to know your meat was humanely raised is to know the person who raised it. Even Whole Foods, with its buying power and signs telling you how everything was raised, has its flaws. Corporations can lie about their animal treatment practices, signs can be misleading ("Cage free" doesn't mean chickens live outside, KWIM?). IMHO, the only way to ensure you're eating humanely raised meat is to see the animal before it becomes meat. I have personally visited the farms of all the people I buy from at the Farmer's Market, and I am 100% sure their animals are raised humanely. That fact is what Food Inc. made me realize, and we've stuck to it since then.
ETA: DH and I were vegetarian for a year after watching Food Inc, but we realized that we're just shifting the suffering from animals to people and the environment. I can't speak for all vegetarians, but I knew DH and I ate more meat alternatives (tofu, tempeh, veggie burgers, etc...) than we should have. That's all processed food that been grown by people who aren't paid a living wage, and is shipped halfway across the world. How is that better than local meat, where the chicken got to lead a happy life outdoors, and was killed humanely? In the end, we decided that local, humanely raised meat was better for us and better for the environment.
Your arguments are really misinformed.
I eat tons of beans and veggies that were grown in the USA and are not processed. I support organic and ethical companies. If this is your reason to be a vegetarian, you were not supposed to be one in the first place.
Can you honestly tell me that ANY animal anywhere is being KILLED humanely? I mean, REALLY? Sorry, hot button. You don't know how your animals are killed unless you watch it yourself.
Sure, they might put a bolt through a cow's head, but do you *really* know if it rendered them senseless? Then when they slit his throat and hung him upside down, do you think he might not feel that?
I dated a vegetarian for 4 years. The stuff he ate was SO processed (fake chicken nuggets, fake bacon, etc). Sheesh, just eat the real stuff or actually eat some vegetables!!
I do actually like some of that Morningstar stuff, but I try to go organic so I don't buy Monsanto's soybeans.
Please note that I said meat alternatives are processed food. I didn't say anything about beans or veggies. Yes of course I buy beans and veggies that are grown organically in the USA. As I said in my OP, I meant meat alternatives like tofu, veggie burgers, and veggie sausage. Those are processed foods. If you had bothered to read my post before getting angry maybe you would have noticed that.
DH and I didn't feel well being vegetarians, so no it's not for us. Yes, I do believe you can kill an animal humanely. The woman I buy chicken from does the butchering on her farm, and while I haven't seen the butchering yet, she and I have talked about it. I have plans to help her butcher when she starts up again in the spring. I do not think the animals are being cruely treated.
It's more about you saying that you ate too much processed foods that led to supporting other countries.
Let me know how that slaughtering works out for you. You're killing something that is living- they are going to feel pain. Good luck on that painless killing.
Lay off the judgement. It's statements and attitudes like that that give vegetarians/vegans a bad name. And I am one. But what someone chooses to eat is their personal business. I don't expect other people to follow my life choices, nor do I judge them or force my beliefs down their throat. Instead of being judgemental, why don't you post about how great a plant-based diet is for your health and for the planet? And the positives of your experience with it? More people would be apt to listen to you.
Trying to guilt trip people into eating vegan is not going to work. It NEVER does. As I even said, the options I have for non-meat protein sources, I either cannot eat at all (beans) or don't like (tofu, processed "veggie" meats, etc). I like vegetables and fruits, and will eat most of them (or at least give them a try if I haven't had them before). But I know that eating fruits and veggies all day is not going to give me the balanced diet I need to survive and feel well.
Yes, I'm aware that killing animals may cause them pain at the moment they are slaughtered. But can we stop being dramatic please? There's a humane way to kill something and an inhumane way. In my mind, it's possible to treat the animals we eat humanely throughout their lives, they enjoy a simple, happy life, so that the suffering is momentary. That's the right way to do it. The wrong way is to do factory farming, where the animals spend their entire existence in pain and suffering, filth and squalor, being tortured from birth to death.
It's great that you've made a choice for yourself to eat vegan/vegetarian. I'm glad you're happy with your choice. But keep in mind that not everyone is going to make that choice, nor should they be chastized for that. Our ancestors have been killing and eating animals for as long as we've existed as a species. We are OMNIVORES, meaning we eat what we're able to catch, whether it be plant OR animal. At the very least, rejoice in that the people here who DON'T choose to live and eat the same way as you, choose not to condone the lifetime torture of the animals they're eating. At least that's a step in the right direction.
It was that one person that wrote those things that really set me off.
Eat meat if you wish, but, don't make statements like "there are humane ways to kill animals"
That is crap.
No, you think there aren't humane ways to kill animals. That is your short-sighted, uninformed view. No one here is faulting you for that, we're just trying to have an educated, adult discussion about eating meat. The dictionary defines "humane" as:
Myself and the others on this board have compassion, sympathy, and consideration for the animals that we eat. You're the only one here who's judging. Like tiger said, we can't all be vegetarians, trust me I tried. We can chose to raise animals in their natural habitat with a very short moment of pain at the time of their death. We can honor that animal's sacrifice by ensuring it had a good life and short, relatively painless death. That is the right, humane way to do it. You're not going to be able to guilt the whole world into being vegan, that's just not going to happen. However, you could have a rational discussion about the right and wrong way to raise animals for human consumption, which as tiger said is a step in the right direction.
I would just like to thank everyone that has stood up for those who do eat organic "happy" meat, regardless of their own personal preferences towards veganism.
I don't eat factory store-bought meat. I haven't eaten chicken in years that was not literally gifted to me by my neighbor (who raises them), and I only eat pork or beef when I raise it. I don't consider myself or my husband to be murdering, slaughtering, heartless villians, and I while I don't expect anyone to be like me and only eat meat they've raised themselves - I also don't expect people to shove the vegan lifestyle down my throat as if I'm the sinner of all sinners just because I do enjoy meat from the steers that I've raised and spoiled like the rest of my pets. I can't imagine someone telling me that my livestock have a torturous life just because I slaughter them. My bull that I currently have now nuzzles me for pete's sake!
As for the video, it made me very very sad. I think it's horrible that we've come to such a point where we literally inject whatever into living creatures just so dinner can be bigger. Not better - but bigger. Animals should be given the right to have a FULL life. And if it takes longer for them to grow to the correct size to be slaughtered for food - what is so wrong with waiting? There is no need to inject a baby animal with chemicals so they can have bigger muscle mass (that they cannot carry around because their bones are NOT developed enough to handle that sort of quick gain) just so that the chicken breast or thigh on my plate is bigger. It still baffles me to this day.
Also - has anyone watched supersize me, or supergreen? I have not yet - but I'm wondering if they are along the same eye-opening path as Food, Inc.?
BFP 5.31.2011 ~*~ Michael Joseph ~*~ BORN 2.8.2012
She never said it was painless. Death is ALL ABOUT PAIN. Of course it's not pleasant you weirdo. But it's part of human existence that's been happening for millenia. What SuperGreen has only stated that she has tried to find the most humane way for the animals to meet their end...one in which animals are respected throughout their lives even to the end.
Is there a way to do it that is distinctly MORE cruel? Yeah, and is there a way to do it with more respect and that is less cruel. Yeah.
FFS>