Food, Inc.

Don't worry, my big Boston re-cap is coming. I promise! I just still need to get a handle on the photos.

But in the meantime, I wanted to make a quick movie recommendation. We watched Food, Inc. last night. If you're anyone interested in food production, animal welfare, the American farmer, mega-corporations, or just what you're putting into your body, you should really make it a point to see this film. It's a PG rated (nothing bloody) documentary about America's food system, how it's changed in the last 50 years, how it's controlled by only a handful of too-large companies, and how it's detrimental to the health of the planet.

We have become more careful eaters in recent years, but watching this movie will have an immediate impact upon what we buy to eat, where we eat out, and what companies we will choose to avoid. When it comes to avoiding companies, I'm a pro, as it's been around 10 years since I've given Wal-Mart a dime. But, as crazy as it may sound, that personal boycott may come to an end soon, at least as far as certain food products are concerned. Wal-Mart's new "locally grown" food program may actually get me to give the OK to shopping there. That company is so large, it has the teeth to effect change, as it has with selling milk from non-steroid injected cows. As much as I dislike Wal-Mart's business practices of squashing local retailers and dictating costs to the point manufacturers are forced to move production overseas, I have a bigger problem with the near monopoly a handful of companies have over the ENTIRE food industry. I can, and have, easily avoided purchasing from one company, but to walk into any and every store and have the same products from the same food manufacturers on the shelves, that's a much bigger problem in my book.

What's the saying? "The enemy of my enemy is my friend?" Well, that's something I'm going to have to think about. Until I reach that decision, we will be shopping the farmers' market and from local growers, and you should go watch that movie!