Sunday, August 24, 2008

Picture of the Week.


A coming back home after the bombs in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia.
- Shipenkov/Epa -

1 comment:

kk said...

Ciao Francesco - Alisa told me about your recent posts on animal slaughter, meat and industrialized food production. I can't watch the video - I've seen enough of those types of things when I was more active with horse rescue and I don't have the stomach for it. I tried to be a vegetarian for similar reasons that you're contemplating on your blog but was unsuccessful because, quite frankly, I'm an omnivore. I like meat. I like fish etc. More than vegetables, in fact - although I prefer raw vegetables to cooked. And also, there was the time when I nearly fainted when I was on a trip to Wyoming during my 6 month foray into vegetarianism. I stupidly subsisted on French Fries and other crap trying to avoid burgers when we were traveling in cattle country. That idea was shot down by a very direct, McDonald's employee who asked me if I was a vegetarian and I proudly and indignantly said, "Yes. I. AM." He pointed out that the fries I ordered were fried in 93% beef tallow and wished me a nice day. I tip my hat off to him. Vegetables fried in beef. That was the end of that.

Anyway, the evolution of what and how we eat have been of great interest to me for years, for many reasons that include my own personal, moral and ethical struggle with what I support in the larger scheme of industry, environment etc. (morally and ethically) and what I like to eat (the physical and health aspects). It has evolved and continues as I learn and read more. I accept that I am an omnivore but I try to be more responsible about what I purchase, what I eat etc. as much as possible - but there are a lot of things to consider - eg. the carbon footprint (eg. support local farming and co-ops), the options of humanely raised and small farms vs. commercial farms - And the bottom line of which is better? What do I support and why when you think of the planet as a whole and where your dollars go and who and what gets displaced. Then there are the choices of rare breeds (which arguably are heartier and need less food and care than "newer" breeds) and animals and vegetables that are treated/injected with chemicals, and then of course, there are GMO's etc. There's a lot to think about if you follow different trains of thought and it's mind bogglng. And exhausting. My personal choices for the moment have come down to supporting local farms, organic if possible, humanely raised if possible and not buying more than I need or can use. And even with that, I'm not sure that those are the best choices available. But I try.

Anyway, there's a book I'm reading which you might like - which was the point of this exhaustive post to begin with. It's called The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. You may find it interesting.

http://www.michaelpollan.com/omnivore.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Omnivore's_Dilemma

Kanna