- My mindset about our wonderful country has not changed at all. I was already aware of the corruption in our government and its lack of care towards its citizens (in this case, regarding food). Money is speech, and boy do corporations do a lot of talking. There isn't really much that I can elaborate on regarding money in politics. Basically, the large sums of money that are being "donated" or contributed to politicians and key organizations by corporations or rich interest groups are overpowering the voices and concerns of ordinary citizens. They get legislation pushed- or destroyed- in their favor and grow even bigger in power and influence while the masses are slowly being killed off. Food guidelines are being skewed to create larger profits for the meat and sugar industry, scientific research is being hidden from the public, and useless "solutions" and coalitions are being presented as alternatives to fixing or even addressing the real issue. It's great.
Regarding my consumption, all remains the same. It's unfortunate, really. I can't really afford to purchase organic food (no job) and most importantly, won't be able to convince my family to follow my newest food interests. I'll try to be more responsible in my eating when I leave for university (Go Bears!) and slowly move toward a healthier lifestyle. It'll be in my best interest. After all, my food selection would be significantly reduced, along with my caloric intake, so no "freshman 15" for me!
Consciousness wise, I think I actually got a bit worse. Sure, it's sad and inhumane how we treat livestock for our greedy wants. The thing is, they aren't humans. Plus, we humans aren't human either. We are all animals, so this type of behavior shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Different religions praise certain animals (Hindus w/ cows) or despise them (Muslims w/ pigs). In the United States of America, the religion of money discriminates against and praises none, so all animals are treated equally bad. Maybe I've just become desensitized to all the atrocities humans commit; you'd be surprised how impactful watching executions of innocent people by ISIS can be. I'm not ignoring or belittling the morally and ethically wrong treatment of animals that are destined for our plates. Eventually, we get what we give. Before you know it, thousands and even millions of humans will be dying from tainted meat that's been genetically altered or filled with steroids. Or better yet, our treatment of the land and atmosphere will lead to greater changes in climate change and we'll burn, freeze, or drown ourselves to death!
If we want to promote a more productive, healthy, and fair society, we must attack the problem at its core: money in politics. I know that I focus too much on the politics aspect of "Food and Politics", but that's really what it comes down to. Once we get special interests out of our government and our representatives actually represent their constituents, we can begin to help shape policy that we believe is right and most beneficial for the greater good.
We can do this several ways: have states call for a constitutional convention that will create an amendment prohibiting money in politics, contact local and state leaders, OR....
BERNIE SANDERS 2016!
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Same Old, Same Old
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I agree, money is a big factor. It affects all of us. Our current food industries are not that different from the big monopolies that arose around the 1900s that quelled public concerns. They were so focused on gaining profits whether that harmed consumers or not. In order to alleviate some of these monopolistic practices, policies and agencies were created to take control of their power and to shift attention to the individuals being affected such as farmers. We need the government to get involved in our current food system in order to protect us. Animals, people, the environment, farmers; they are all being negatively impacted.
ReplyDeleteThe sad part is that they ARE involved ... they're just not in it for us. We need a revolution to reclaim our democracy. BERNIE 2016!
DeleteI also agree that money is the playing ground for our food system. Corporations strive to gain as much profit as they can without worrying about consumers best interests. Humans are always trying to get wealthier, even if it gets the better side of us. I guess that is just part of how our society works. Hmm.. Maybe the saying "money is the root of all evil" is true.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, maybe.
DeleteI do agree about how humanity treats things that are not like us, food wise that is, but if we was to choose go back to times where we was not industrially efficient and the only trades was back and forth by wooden boats to treacherous waters, what would you choose? I don't think Bernie Sanders could help us with that (Colonel Sanders could help us with that). Those who work at factories knew what they were going into and they do it for their families, themselves, and for survival. Honestly i think we have no other choices but to put others in danger in order to prosper this mediocre nation
ReplyDeleteAgreed, sacrifices do have to be made. But it isn't completely impossible for us to switch gears and move toward the right direction in the treatment of animals, the earth, and ourselves. In the past we had to act dangerously to move forward; but, now we are at a point of the potential elimination of many technological limits that the only thing to blame is our greed. Tragic.
DeleteIf we was to change at this moment in treatment of our animals, Earth, and ourselves, where should we start without the interruption our money flow and go into recession? We do have to worry about the GDP, GNP, and other economical questions like that when it comes to changing things for the better. Some say don't eat meat but that means more Tofu Factories. Where do we go from here?
DeleteListen, there will never be such a thing as a perfect economy. There will be disruptions, it's called a business cycle. Yeah, we may go into a recession and take a hard hit. But that money that we are reallocating is an investment for our future and it will pay off in the long run. If you ask me, it's worth it. Also, environmental regulations would obviously apply to both meat and non meat corporations. Our goal is to reduce our ecological footprint, regardless of our economy or food industry type.
DeleteOkay, okay...how about our nuclear power plants? We still have those and i think we kind of need those just in case something happens.
DeleteWhat about them?
DeleteI agree with all of you regarding the whole money situation and how all these big corporations care about is money and not the interest of citizens
ReplyDeleteOH NO POLITICS I AM BECOMING TRIGGERED
ReplyDeleteAlso
>The religion of money
That's a really, REALLY good line
Splendid job
The reason we treat the livestock badly is BECAUSE of money
-insert statement about how because humans are the only creatures that put value in sheets of paper and metal disks, we devalue other animal lives in the sake of said paper and metal-