Soap Box

I already wrote this entry once, but scrapped the first draft after putting more consideration into what I wanted to say. This article isn't about Mali. It's about the US. I'm probably won't end up writing something entirely cohesive, but that's because how I feel and what I think aren't in complete agreement. Once again I find myself waffling.

I watched a documentary entitled "Food, Inc." this morning. It had the familiar message that big corporations are the devil and the system is corrupt and bla bla bla. However, it also offered some constructive criticism. I suggest watching it if you have some spare time.

The main points of the film included:
1. The American public's general lack of any understanding of where their food actually comes from or what's in it.
2. The increasing consolidation and control of the American food industry by a few large multinational conglomerates.
3. The blurring of the lines between corporations and government regulatory agencies due to personnel from each moving from one to the other.
4. The increasing impotence of government regulation on industry due to court decisions ruling in favor of corporate interests.
5. Government agriculture subsidies favoring certain major cash crops which has resulted in virtual insolvency for local farmers.
6. Corporate abuse of intellectual property rights in order to attain almost complete control of an industry, which then results in little or no competition in the market place.
7. Corporations taking advantage of and abusing immigrant workers.
8. The disparity between immigrants, companies, and the government. Corporations bring immigrant workers to the US, but it is the workers who are punished for entering the country illegally, not the companies that brought them here or employed them.
9. The food industry's insistence on combating new problems that arise with new, advanced technologies instead of simply solving the root problem. (i.e. giving cattle massive amounts of antibiotics instead of improving the diet of the animal)
10. The un-sustainable nature of a globalized food industry that is totally dependent on oil and does not promote local production or distribution of products.
11. The unfairness and ease of bringing forth a lawsuit inherent in the US legal system that essentially favors whoever is able to afford long legal battles (i.e. not small farmers or workers).
12. The poverty created in foreign countries due to US agriculture subsidies. Farmers in other countries are unable to sell their own crops in their own countries because government subsidies allow American farmers to sell their crops below production costs.
13. The fact that it is now much more expensive to eat healthy than eat poorly, which causes the poor to become unhealthy and sick, which in turn creates a whole host of problems including more poverty, reliance on government aid, healthcare issues, etc.

So what am I trying to get at here? I feel conflicted. My heart says that what we are doing is wrong. My mind wonders how we can "right" all the "wrongs" and still have things like food availability, low food costs, food variety, and the convenience that is currently enjoyed. To me it seems that in order to "right" the "wrongs" we have to adopt a more socialist attitude, but at the same time I like the independence I have with a more capitalist attitude. I guess I'm wondering if there is a way to combine the two. You know... Social capitalism. Capital socialism. Suffice it to say I don't have the answers and I'm left scratching my head wondering where the time warp portal is that will take me to that magical land of hope and wonder where everything I want is possible simultaneously.

In any case, I find myself turning to what is quickly becoming my favorite phrase: "Be the change you want to see". I'm also learning that doing this means not always taking the easy route or going with my first choice. By being the change I want to see I force myself to consider the long term future and think about where I (and everyone around me) am headed, and that has caused me to do things I might not have otherwise. Do you think you, the reader, can do the same?

If you're interested in what I've been talking about and want to learn more, or want to study the message of the "flaming liberals" in order to defeat them, check out the following documentaries:

Food, Inc. (food industry, politics, social justice)
The Future of Food (food industry, corporate greed)
Flow (water crisis)
King Corn (everything you ever wanted to know about the corn industry)
The Corporation (unsavory corporate practices/policies)
What Would Jesus Buy? (problems with American consumerism)
Roger and Me (negative affects corporations can have on communities)