One point that I wanted to touch on after watching Food Inc is that of where the blame lies. Do not blame the farmers-in many situations, they are simply doing what they must to survive. We are putting them in this position with the food choices we make everyday.
The head of the Corn Grower's Association told his story-he was doing what we wanted him to. He was growing open pollinated crops. I don't know whether he was organic or not, or what his farming methods were, but he was trying. Monsanto ended up suing him for an all their ridiculous reasons, and he settled out of court, in order to protect his family. He still had to farm. It was his livelihood, but now he had to farm Monsanto's way. What he said in his parting statement was that the *only* way to get past this mess that has been evolving is to vote with our dollars-buy only those products and from small farmers who you can trust. If you buy, they will supply it. Look at the changes Wal Mart has made because folks demanded better product. It is not the farmer's faults. They are doing what they need to get by. Granted, there probably are some stubborn ones out there, but if we create a way for them to get from under the thumb of Chemical Ag Giants, they can do what they love to do, and feel appreciated in doing so. The current commercials by such Giants featuring farm families and talking about them feeding us are great, until they get to the end and you see Monsanto plastered on the screen. Because, they aren't really doing anything. I don't see them out there farming those crops. No, they are tracking down those farmers and holding proverbial guns to their heads so that they farm "their" way.
So, in yet another way, what you buy, where you buy, what you eat-it all will be one of the integral parts of how we change the way this country eats back to *real* food. I would love to see grocery stores shrink. Not go away, they employ people, as well, but those center aisles, have got to go!
In closing-blame the Giants, not the Farmers. If you buy it, they grow...
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