Monsanto is upset about documentary Food Inc., as Jill Richardson nicely describes and rebuts. But they are not the only ones. The National Chicken Council decries Food Inc. as a one-sided, negative, and misleading film. I'll leave it to others to repudiate the claims that industrial agriculture is terrific because it's regulated by U.S. federal agencies (google "food recall" and see how well that's working), gives people choices in food (he cites eating kiwis and pistachios as an essential human right), and that small-scale agriculture can't become the norm again (because we have to feed an ever-growing population that eats a high-meat, high-waste diet).
But his headline is: Would you like to pay a lot more for your food?. And his main attack is demonizing the food-justice movement for being elitist and twee. Let's talk about that. Then I'll show you how to organize a foodraiser for your local anti-hunger group wrapped around a special showing of Food Inc.
What gets me boiling is how Big Chicken spokesman Richard Lobb attacks the sustainable food movement for being elitist snobs:
The cost to consumers would also be prohibitive. Products from small-scale producers are typically more expensive than products from mainstream producers. If a consumer wants to pay more, that is his or her business, but insisting that only expensive products from small-scale operations are worth eating is pure snobbery.
and with this quote from Upper Crust Eats:
"Pollan’s positions are shaped by his exquisitely refined political and gastronomical sensibilities, to be sure, but a huge aesthetic component seems to be lurking beneath the surface, mostly unacknowledged by Pollan himself. Food, like other cultural artifacts, is freighted with symbolism, and The Omnivore’s Dilemma could easily serve as a how-to guide for elite eating . . . You get the sense that we’re moving toward a world where the only really refined cuisine will be turnips, pulled from our own gardens in front of our dinner guests and cooked on the spot in butter churned at home earlier that day."
Yes, yes, cooking and eating are rich in symbolism. As one of my friends says, "Food is love." Not to mention comfort, pleasure, tradition, and much more.
But eating good food raised in a sustainable and healthy way is not a dilettante's dream. I show on the Cook for Good site how to do it for less than the current food-stamp allowance in my state. This week's feature was on saving money and time by freezing food well. For example, I've frozen 15 pounds of local, organic strawberries in the past week at a cost of only $2.80 a pound or 51 cents a serving, which will keep me in affordable local fruit once or twice a week all winter long.
The affordability of sustainably raised food grows when you look at nutritional quality. Since we're talking chicken here, let's look at the study done by Mother Earth News comparing pastured eggs to factory-produced ones:
We have just completed testing eggs from four flocks raised on pasture — the results revealed that compared to supermarket eggs from hens raised in cages, our free-range eggs contained only about half as much cholesterol, were up to twice as rich in vitamin E, and were two to six times richer in beta carotene (a form of vitamin A). For essential omega-3 fatty acids (vital for optimal heart and brain function), the free-range eggs averaged four times more than factory eggs.
We can eat greener, kinder, and still save money.
First, reduce the amount of food you throw away. Dr. Timothy Jones of the University of Arizona does compelling research on the amount of food we simply throw away: about one and a quarter pounds a day in the trash, not counting what goes into the garbage disposal or the compost. That's a waste of $590 a year per family and over $43 billion nationwide.
Next, eat lower on the food chain. As Micheal Pollan says, "eat mostly plants." Then you'll have enough money left over to eat pasture-raised meat or eggs if you decide to ... and the lower demand for meat will discourage farmers from raising animals as if the pain and suffering of the animals does not matter.
Finally, for today at least, help others get access to good food and learn to cook it. That's where the foodraiser comes in.
Tutorial: Throwing a Film Fundraiser I'm coordinating a special showing of Food Inc. as a foodraiser for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle here in Raleigh, which runs a new "Plant a Row for the Hungry" program, teaches Operation Frontline classes in nutrition, cooking, and household budgeting, and more. The proceeds will go to the program in the form of fruits and vegetables from one or more local farmers who use organic or sustainable practices. We've got lots of exciting plans for this event that I'll tell you more about once they are firmed up. But for now, please think about doing this yourself.
A fundraiser wrapped around a film is one of the easiest kinds to throw. You don't have to clean your house, buy wine, make appetizers, or think about how to amuse people for two hours. I've worked with two local theater groups on these events and they have always been great about helping.
- Our model has been to ask for a minimum donation that is slightly more than the ticket price, say $10 for a matinee that would be $6. We pay the theater the ticket price and use the rest as a donation. There's no extra rent, so if no one shows up you are not out of pocket, but of course you haven't raised any money and have not encouraged the theater to repeat the experience.
- We usually have information tables, petitions, and some times book sales in the lobby before and after the show. Make sure to people a way to take action now that you've inspired them and try to add to your contact list for future action.
- We usually have a very brief presentation before the film to tie it into the local work. Make it brief! Folks will be watching a movie afterwards and you don't want to numb them into inaction. The great thing about a movie event is that the theater will start the movie on time, cutting off even the most loquacious politician.
- Publicize, publicize, publicize. Send out a press release, work the local lists, and so forth. It's thrilling to see an inspiring film in a theater full of like-minded individuals.
- You CAN try this at home, kids. If you don't want to do the whole theater thang, then consider renting a DVD and having little fundraiser at home. Great tie-in films are Thank You for Smoking about the PR genius representing Big Tobacco and How to Cook Your Life about Zen and the spirituality of cooking and food.
In fact, Thank You for Smoking is essential viewing (or reading) for those of us interested in addressing the attacks by Big Food, and for that matter by Big Pharma and others. Let's recognize that Big Chicken Spokesman Richard Lobb and his counterparts at Monsanto and elsewhere are the current incarnations of The Merchants of Death that Christopher Buckley skewers so well.
Don't allow Big Food to succeed in their attempt to divide and conquer using elitism and cost as wedge issues.
[Update: I've been asked in a private email how to get a film. That's the beauty of this: the theater gets the film for a regular run. You just ask to have a special showing. Theaters are usually grateful to have someone help with the advertising and bring in more viewers. Here are the locations for Food Inc.]