Well, I finally saw the movie Food, Inc. last night.  It was pretty much what I expected, as far as who the major players were.  Joel Salatin, Michael Pollan, & Eric Schlosser were all prominent.  I have been immersed in this kind of stuff for a long time now, so none of what I saw was particularly shocking, though the mother of a two-year-old boy who died from e.coli really got to me.

The problem with this movie, and really this whole movement, is how do you get people to go to it?  How do you get people to watch this movie, to open their eyes, to become conscious of what we are doing to our bodies and our land?  There were 6 people in the movie theater, and I’m willing to bet all 6 had already read Omnivore’s Dilemma, or maybe shopped at a Co-op on a semi-regular basis.

They’re preaching to the choir.  I don’t need any convincing.  I don’t need to watch Meet your meat, or read another Michael Pollan book, or see another documentary.  But I am in the minority.

I was really glad that the movie made the strong point that consumers are definitely part of this, but government must be too.  Many of the hidden costs of our cheap food are borne by the government, covered by the taxes and you and I pay.

I included the pic of Joel Salatin from the official movie website, because I seriously love that guy.  To me he is the embodiment of the old wisdom we need to try and revive.  And guess what?  He’s a conservative Christian.  He might make a lot of city folk (including most of the members of Pollan’s choir) very uncomfortable.  And that is one of the things I love about him:  this movement needs to be neither conservative nor liberal, but practical.  Radically practical.

Encourage your friends and family to see this movie.  It really speaks to what the New Home Economics is all about.