FED UP! (57 minutes)
This documentary isn't all about eating raw and how great it is for you, but it does have some good educational points to think about when purchasing your food.
The first half was my least favorite, but it actually got interesting as I kept watching. It talked a fair amount about genetically modified products and how there really is no control over cross pollination of the genetically engineered products with other non modified products in nearby fields. Although there are no policies about drifting of genetic material, there are some policies out there about pesticide drift.
They covered one specific bacteria called Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT). BT is a bacteria that is engineered into certain plants to act as an insecticide. It's residue has been found up to a year after the genetically modified plant has been removed from it's growing spot. Apparently, non-targeted insects, like the monarch butterfly, are killed by BT. I personally don't understand how you can target a specific insect and exclude others in the first place. That's why I'm not a biotech expert! Anyway, along these same lines, they mentioned how some of these engineered products have become tainted. They have found some targeted insects (and weeds too) that have actually grown resistant to these insecticides. The most astounding thing I heard was that in California there is one product that has actually shown spermicidal properties. That's not very cool!
There's a certain corn called, "Starlink" that is only approved for animal consumption, that has been found in human food. These foods were recalled because the EPA couldn't support or approve it's safety. This just made me sad that they think it's ok for animals. I love my puppies.....most of the time:)
If you haven't ever heard of "golden rice," you'll want to watch the video yourself. There's a fair amount of information about this topic. The "golden rice" was modified version of rice by a bio tech company to contain high amounts of vitamin A. One anti-biotech gentlemen that was interviewed believes that the biotech industry did this just to get the sympathy of others as opposed to really wanting to help with a nutritional problem. Marina McGloughlin, director of biotech at University of California said, "adding this capability is helping people considering we need to eat healthy foods to stay healthy instead of always running to the doctor for a cure, although biotech has an answer for that as well, but much cheaper and healthier to eat better in the first place." If this is the case, why not just eat organic unmodified whole foods? I personally have a difficult time understanding how insecticides added to foods can be helping people. That's just me though!
The last part of the video was my favorite. They interviewed a couple of smaller organic farmers. I absolutely love small farms, mostly because it reminds me of growing up in the country. I used to help my dad in the garden alot when I was a kid. Fun times!! They talked about going to local farmer's markets, which is one of my favorite things to do in the summer. They were encouraging the community to get involved in CSA's, farmer's markets, and even visiting local farms to see where your food actually comes from. Buying direct from a farm is a great way to know exactly where your food is from and how it's produced.
On a separate note, tonight is raw food night at the Green Owl Cafe, so I'll be posting the results of my dining next week:) I'm looking forward to catching up with a friend tonight over raw food. It's her first time, and she's not a raw foodie so I'll let you know how it goes!!
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