organic food

At first, when I really learned what organic food was, when I started knowing people who cared about and bought organic food, when I first moved to Chicago (even though I had moved from the home base of Whole Foods), my opinion was that organic food sounded like a good and reasonable alternative, but was ultimately for rich people, and a bit ridiculous to spend the extra money on, when there were so many other necessities. Organic food buyers were hippies, hand wringing liberal yet yuppie parents with large incomes, yoga enthusiasts, Adbusters readers, you know, people who worried too much and carry a smug air of superiority. People who didn't have to buy the cheapest generic $.99 eggs from cages that are not vegetarian fed, but had the luxury to be concerned. But I guess I am sort of one of those people now, because I am worried!

WELL, I guess it's time to "eat crow"! (I remember I learned that phrase in middle school…it's a funny one) But no, I think I should be eating organic crow, if anything. There is this movie on Hulu that I've been wanting to watch, but also not wanting to watch, because I think it may cause me to get too worked up: it will fill me with rage and anxiety, I know it. And then I'll have horrible anxiety for the rest of the day and then I'll get too depressed to do anything except google more and more depressing facts about the food, and feel hopeless. Managing my mood is such a balancing act! But anyway, this intriguing movie is called The Future of Food. It already sounds scary!

Luckily I don't have to see this movie to know what it's about, because my more hippie-ish organic food fan friend already watched it and told me about it. I'm glad I didn't watch it. Because even telling me about it, she got really angry and frustrated and was almost screaming, and I don't blame her. Basically it is about the corporations that control most of America's food supply, and how the seed and herbicide industry is ruining everything to deepen their pockets. It's about genetically modified food, and how nobody even knows the long term effects it will have on our bodies, and how most other countries are not willing to sell out their citizens' health to private corporations, and do not even want to fuck with the stuff. Japan plans to just look at American kids in 10 years to see the effects. It's also about the 4 huge villainous corporations who are, duh, doing anything to get more money no matter the repercussions on public health or wellbeing. And of course, how the FDA is complacent in all of this, and how we are eating so much genetically modified food and it's not even required on the label, because they don't want people to wise up about it. Also, and I had heard this before, the corporations create these genetically modified plants, and then freaking patent them. Then, due to natural cross pollination, the seeds carry over to other crops on other farms. So if a small farmer accidentally gets some of this patented plant mixed in his crops, the big corporation can test for their patented genetics, and sue the pants off him for tons of money. And OMG judges are ruling for the corporations! It's really too insane to comprehend, except there's the money thing, and then it's just depressing. Oh, and another really horrible fact is that one or some of the corporations are trying to develop a plant with a suicide gene, so that it will only grow for one cycle, and then kill itself, thereby causing the farmers have to buy new seed every year. As one, uh, "guy" pointed out in the movie, can you imagine havoc the suicide plant would wreak if it was released and cross pollinated with the world's food supply?!

I knew our food was coming from sketchy sources, but these corporations are even more evil than I imagined. OH! And they put antibiotics in tons of food. I kind of knew that was true, but not to what extent and how much we are unaware of it. Hearing all these facts together really hurts. I mean, I feel like USA has really, personally hurt my feelings. I don't even consider myself naive to the horrible things our government does...I listen to NPR. But this is painful. It is affecting the health of the whole entire country, minus of course, the rich who can buy everything organic if they "choose" to, while most are left without a choice.

I really do not want to support this corruption. I don't want to feel like a complacent "part of the problem", so I think it is time I start seriously buying organic, not only when it is the same price as regular. I will have to make myself afford it. If more and more people demand organic and buy organic, the market will have to provide more organic, and it will be at a cheaper price. Organic food is already cheaper than it was years ago. So, the self-righteous "hippies" were right all along (about food at least, not the jam bands, sweaty hemp necklaces, dreadlocks on white people, and other crimes against humanity). I just need more alternatives to Whole Foods! Can't really pay $50 for 6 items…



Lookin' good!