Farmers seem to know.... page

[grandma]

As I watch documentaries like King Corn and Food inc (I've only seen the trailer) I am struck by the comments from farmers that they know that the way they are raising animals and crops is unhealthy. I'm not faulting them, they don't have a choice, but it is striking that the public is completely in the dark about what is really going on. I hope it improves for our children's sake. I hope these movies make an impact, I'm going to make sure my family see them

[Tarlach]

They also say that they will produce what people want


We have to all vote with our wallets and buy what we want. Then the price will come down as it becomes mainstream and competition kicks in.


No-one here should be buying anything but high quality food. Especially as it saves you money on health bills later anyway.

[FlyNavyWife]

Tarlach, it's really frustrating as someone who WOULD vote with her wallet and buy grass-fed meats, etc... but living in an area without a lot of choice.


I basically have access to the commissary on base or a winn-dixie half an hour away. No whole foods, no Trader Joe's (those are the big two i keep hearing on this forum). So unless I want to order online, that's all I have... and checking out the meat, there is hardly any variety. The ONLY chicken I saw at the commissary yesterday was Tyson "natural" chicken (and I'm pretty sure the FDA doesn't regulate the term "natural" at all).


Frustrating! I can't wait until we move somewhere we can buy a chunk of a grass-fed cow from a local farmer, you know?

[TaydaTot]

"Voting" with your wallet is a nice idea but it is an attempt to rectify a problem within the free market system by continuing to contribute to the mechanics of that system. Corporations benefit from a society of fragmented "sovereign" consumers. If the problems of big-agri are to be addressed we have to recognize that as individual consumers we are almost powerless compared to the "individuals" who are the large corporations, but as CITIZENS of a community we have the ability to make SOCIAL change. Trying to change the structure of the system through economic change will be futile.


It is all about addressing the problem AS CITIZENS of a free democracy instead of AS CONSUMERS of a free market.

[brahnamin]

@ FlyNavyWife

You are absolutely correct that there is no regulation of the term *natural* as a marketing tool. Plastic could be labeled as *natural*.


But if you have a Winn Dixie within an hour of where you live, chances are you have farms within that same hour radius. It's not convenient. But it might be an option.


And even places like Winn Dixie will sometimes carry a small selection of organic and grass fed meats frozen and/or vacuum sealed.


My family lives on a budget, so I can't always purchase the best and still feed the five of us. But sometimes I've found some surprising deals on high quality stuff.


One trick I've learned is to save up about $200 during the winter and $200 during the summer. Then on Memorial Day and Labor Day when they have bombastic deals on meat I stock my freezer. I am fortunate in that I do have a Whole Paycheck . . . erm . . . Whole Foods nearby and they do $10 off of $50 for both those holidays in their meat department. So that's 20% off on top of the regular sales they're running - not a bad deal.


The cashiers always smile at me when I come through the line 3 or 4 times to take maximum advantage of the deal (they don't do $20 off $100 for whatever reason, so I make multiple passes).


It's one thing to be an activist, but I'm not out to change the world at the expense of my family.


@TaydaTot

What is wrong with attempting to rectify the problem from within the system? Calling for social change is one thing, but it's a political thing and politics is a fickle, slow moving, cumbersome beast.


I'm not saying not to take that angle, but why limit it to that angle. In America, (fortunately or unfortunately), money still talks.


Wal Mart is now the largest retailer of organic products in the world. They took the title from Whole Foods about two years ago. But if it weren't for Whole Foods creating the demand and their shoppers *voting* for those products by buying them, Wal Mart would never have shifted its focus.


Companies have to want their share of this market. The more that want it the more competitive the market becomes the lower prices drop.


Of course, I'd rather spend my money at Whole Foods where I know they track their products and regularly audit their producers than at Wal Mart any day.


But sometimes I don't have the money to be picky, and so when I need to - Wal Mart isn't such a suck-all option.