Food, Inc.

As the news covers yet another food recall, food safety issues again come to mind. To learn more about these issues, we traveled over to Ithaca to the Cinemopolis Theater on the Ithaca Commons to see the movie Food, Inc. If you get a chance, I strongly recommend that you see this movie. It is a documentary about the industrialized food system we have created. There are only a few large agricultural companies that pretty much control our food supply. The movie covers issues of food safety, food nutrition, and animal cruelty. In addition, they offer some solutions and share what some are working on to improve and change the system.

One main message from the movie is that we can make quite a difference by simply making careful food choices. This includes growing a garden, no matter how small (maybe even on a truck bed?) as well as continuing to support our local small farmers. Purchase your meat from small, local farms that take care to treat their animals with the respect they deserve. When you go to local grocery stores, continually request local foods and ask that they clearly label the ones that they have. For example, I was pleased to see at the P & C in Cortland they are now carrying Windy Ridge Farm cheese made in Cazenovia. It was hidden in with all the Wisconsin specialty cheeses, but I was able to find it. As a former resident of Wisconsin, I find that our local NY cheese is just as tasty, and hasn't had to travel as many miles to get to us.

If you go to the Food, Inc website they have links to other advocacy opportunities including improving school lunch nutrition. Also, please contact your politicians to let them know that food quality and food safety are a concern for you and you want them to work on these issues.