Food for thought: A short review of Fast Food Nation
The film opens nationwide Friday 16
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Newsquoter Posted 12:45 am
17 Nov 2006
Unhealthy food consumption means we're drowning in excess oil, salt and sugar
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Jason D Scorse Posted 1:21 pm
19 Nov 2006
J.S.
J.S. teaches environmental economics and blogs at http://www.voicesofreason.info.
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David Roberts Posted 2:27 pm
19 Nov 2006
www.grist.org
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Jason D Scorse Posted 3:21 pm
19 Nov 2006
J.S. teaches environmental economics and blogs at http://www.voicesofreason.info.
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caniscandida Posted 5:58 pm
19 Nov 2006
Meanwhile, along with considering the plight of cattle, let us not forget all the birds, the animals that are raised and slaughtered in by far the greatest numbers to provide food for Americans.
The Humane Society of the United States has this page up, asking those who plan to eat a traditional turkey dinner this Thanksgiving to consider revising the tradition in a vegetarian way:
http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/thanksgiving_tradit...
Whether any of their suggested alternatives has any culinary interest, I could not say. (I rather doubt it, actually. Why not go with Calvin Trillin's famous suggestion?: He dislikes turkey, and once lamented that life would be so much better, if only our traditional Thanksgiving dinner had been spaghetti alla carbonara. And in fact there are decent vegetarian substitutions for the prosciutto or bacon, though I doubt such a dish could ever be rendered vegan.)
Also on the HSUS's Thanksgiving page, there is a link in the text to a brief petition that they ask readers to sign. It is to be sent to the signer's legislators, and requests that the law that has been on the books for some time now regarding the "humane" slaughter of animals raised and killed for food be amended. As it is now interpreted, the animals that must be rendered insensitive to pain prior to slaughter are only mammals: cattle and pigs, no doubt. The petition wants the interpretation of the law's provisions to be widened to include chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and other birds fitting (somehow) into the category "poultry."
Actually, the petition strikes me as the babiest of baby steps. Even as the law is currently applied regarding cattle, it is hardly satisfactory, and Americans should by no means consider that its existence alone suffices to assuage their consciences. The death march of factory-farmed cattle in the slaughterhouses, for a long while in panic and terror before they receive the electric shock that "renders them insensitive to pain," is horrendous, and a moral disgrace. Michael Pollan, Peter Singer and others have written eloquently on this. I can very well understand the frustration of the characters in the movie, who are fed up with writing letters. Still, perhaps, a voyage of a thousand miles can begin even with one baby step.
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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KathyF Posted 10:39 pm
19 Nov 2006
Sure it can! You'd be surprised at the number of vegan delicacies that are regularly served.
I share your views, btw, on the number of animals killed to make one meal. (And so many people will only eat the breast of a chicken, meaning even more chickens have to be slaughtered.) That's what led me to give up shrimp (the last holdout on my vegetarian plate), when I realized the etouffee on my plate required the taking of a dozen lives.
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kmp Posted 1:30 am
20 Nov 2006
With luck, the wild turkeys I saw in the Park will survive the dreaded holiday, as I do not believe there is any (legal) hunting in Catskill Park; sad to say, the same cannot be said for the many deer I saw strapped to the back of trucks and SUVs on the Thruway on my way home. Rifle-hunting season for deer generally opens the weekend before Thanksgiving and obviously there were people taking advantage. It just points out to me how nothing is black & white; I hate to see a once-majestic animal, stripped of life & dignity and strapped like so much luggage to the back of a car. Then again, there is a serious deer overpopulation problem in all of NY/NJ and I do believe that a legal hunting season is better than eventual starvation and decimation of plant life. On this, as on so many animal welfare issues, it just never seems easy.
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Tom Philpott Posted 2:09 am
20 Nov 2006
Also, it's bears remembering that animals are critically necessary to sustainably capturing nitrogen for food production. Of course, that should only make us respect their welfare more, not less. Pretending it isn't so, though, is a severely limited strategy for advancing animal rights or sustainable agriculture.
Victual Reality
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caniscandida Posted 3:10 am
20 Nov 2006
It reminds me of the classic philosophical problem of the Ship of Theseus. The hero Theseus, after killing the Minotaur on Crete, sailed home to Athens. The Athenians hauled his ship on shore, and placed it in a kind of shrine. After many years, it began to decay, piece by piece. As each piece crumbled, an Athenian shipbuilder would fashion another piece of wood in that size and shape, and fit it into the space of the decayed piece. Eventually, the ship did not contain one single piece of the original ship. So, the question is asked, Is it still the ship of Theseus? If not, at one point did it stop being the ship of Theseus?
On deer: I know what you are saying, Kaela. They are indeed very beautiful animals. But their out-of-control population is an ecological catastrophe. It seems to me that this is a very rare case in which killing wild animals for the purpose of reducing their numbers may be justified. As you point out, countless animals and plants suffer as a result of their excessive numbers, and so do they themselves.
The same reasoning, by the way, does not work with elephants, whose large concentrations in some places are a problem. That is because it is clear that when one elephant is killed, its relatives grieve terribly. That is not the case, apparently, with deer.
Anyway, considering how many hunters kill deer and elk not for sport but for their meat, that may be the least problematic form of hunting.
But nothing is clear or simple. Do you remember that weird Vietnam movie of 1978, "The Deer Hunter"? Those guys in western PA, perhaps the most serious hunters in the Northeast (save perhaps for their brothers in Maine), treat the experience as something truly religious. And many hunters speak in those terms. I believe them, but it leaves me truly baffled.
Segue-ing along, the ruffed grouse, Bonasa umbellus, is the official state bird of PA. No doubt it was selected because it is a popular game bird. Presumably they are not endangered. Still, they are very pretty, even cute, and one wishes them well. I would love to encounter some in the wild, as you did, regardless of the momentary fright. The National Geographic Society Field Guide to the Birds of North America says, "Flushed birds burst into flight with a roar of wings." And Sibley says, "Often flushed from the ground and heard but not seen; takes off with loud burst of wingbeats." Wow!
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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Michael Boydston Posted 8:47 am
20 Nov 2006
In terms of conventional physics, the grouse represents only a millionth of either the mass or the energy of an acre. Yet subtract the grouse and the whole thing is dead. An enormous amount of some kind of motive power has been lost.
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bookerly Posted 6:24 pm
20 Nov 2006
The local vegetarians have a Chinese film that includes graphic and disgusting scenes of animal slaughtering. A few students I know saw it the other day and were put off eating meat for a few days (and several have sworn to at least eat less, a beginning).
I hope the movie makes it here (in some form (grin)). I often pass out Super Size Me, this would be a nice companion.
No Thanksgiving here, I miss my tofu turkey and smuggling a live one across the border to Canada and freedom on Der Tag. Can one of you take one over in my place?
patrick
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caniscandida Posted 7:51 pm
20 Nov 2006
Patrick, I would love to flee over the border, to Quebec, with Michael and Little Dog, and with a rescued turkey in the back seat. We would all be much happier there than at the solemn ceremony in Pennsylvania.
Of course, at customs, there may be a problem. We have papers to show for Little Dog, but nothing for our new friend the turkey. Maybe we should release it a few hundred meters before the border, and instruct it to fly over and meet us on the other side.
But perhaps you could share your old smuggling trick. Did you throw a shawl around it, and do a mock-up with a blanket, stockings and shoes, and say to the border guard that it was your ailing grandmother?
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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willa Posted 3:37 am
21 Nov 2006
I will be enjoying a new variety of fake turkey this year, an Un-Turkey. I don't care for Tofurky particularly, though their gravy is good (but I can make equally good gravy at home when I'm not so lazy). The Quorn roasts are satisfying taste-wise but rather boring-looking little sausage-like things. The Un-Turkey promises appealing appearance, great flavor, and, in an intriguingly novel turn, a crispy "skin" made of soy. It also has stuffing, which means I don't have to make any (good, 'cause I can't stand stuffing and my fiance loves it, but probably wouldn't make it for himself). We'll see. It was kind of an impulse buy, really, since we're not having any sort of gathering this year, so it'll just be another day for us. Hopefully it will be a tasty impulse buy, though...
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mihan Posted 12:15 am
22 Nov 2006
If it doesn't contain those items, it might be orgasmically delicious, but it is simply not spaghetti alla carbonara. Someone has to stand up for Mamma Marcella (Hazan).
Similarly, a salad that does not contain romaine lettuce, anchovies, Romano cheese, and croutons has no business calling itself a Caesar salad.
Definitely my most memorable T-day bird was a guinea fowl a friend brought me when I was in Peace Corps. We had told him about our tradition, and he offered a "bird." It was given to us live, a friend killed and prepared it in the morning while I grated coconut, then I made the most delicious Thanksgiving curry I have ever had.
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Tom Philpott Posted 12:20 am
22 Nov 2006
Victual Reality
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bookerly Posted 10:48 am
23 Nov 2006
In the woods, near the border, facing North. Then you run up waving your arms and making a loud noise....
Actually, just kidding. The only turkey I took across the border was usually me (grin).
Happy "We Killed All the Indians and The Land is Ours Now" Day.
pace,
patrick
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