To Meat or Not to Meat
added 02/22/10
by Kay Litten
Board President
The Littens, Larry and Kay, had a stay-at-home weekend recently when we watched three films on the food industry on consecutive nights. On Friday we watched King Corn, the story of two Yale graduates who went back to their families’ roots in Iowa, planted one acre of corn, followed the progress of their crop, and learned the stories of corn farmers in the United States. On Saturday night we viewed Food, Inc., the exposé of how our foods are manipulated and “enriched” and the consequences of the mega-agribusiness alliances on our food supplies and our nation’s health. Sunday night found us watching Fresh, another approach to the same food production story and how our nation’s diet is becoming more unhealthy as science and the chemical industry “help” farmers produce more per acre faster, but with more chemically enhanced products. The following Friday night we went to see The End of the Line about the over-fishing of the oceans (especially for the bluefin tuna) and the decimation of the cod fishing industry off the coast of Canada.
Now the above descriptions are drastically over-simplified summaries of these four films, but they are all about how food around the world is threatened by our over-consumption of some naturally occurring foods, like fish, and the over-manipulation of other foods like soybeans, corn, beef, and chicken. And, in an attempt to further understand the implications of the meat industry from which most Americans still derive most of their protein, the members of the Hanover Co-op Board of Directors are all reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals about factory farming.
When I was in high school I read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and did not want a hot dog for several months. I did not realize that our country would be addressing food horrors just as frightening and threatening in my elder years. And to think I had been contemplating when I might take my recently-turned-two grandson to a fast-food restaurant for a hamburger and fries. It turns out that will never happen. I shall make him a hamburger or meatballs in my own kitchen prepared from grass-fed beef purchased at the Hanover Co-op, and I shall not worry that this meat will affect him adversely.
I know that my food bill has been getting higher recently. I also know that this is largely because of my choices of food. I can thank the Co-op for allowing me to make the choices of locally grown, responsibly raised, and non-genetically modified food.
Here is a store which allows me to shop with my values in mind. I value peace of mind in my choices. I like knowing that the employees are paid a fair wage and have good benefits. I know that my favorite food store is a leader in sustainable practices in the Upper Valley and beyond. I know that when I have questions about what I buy, there are staff who will either knowledgably answer my questions or help me find the answers. I know that my grocery store returns my loyalty by sponsoring and supporting worthwhile community projects. I can even borrow cookbooks or books about the food industry from their library. I can take a cooking class or consult the nutritionist about my food choices.
And now, at home, we are grappling with the meat issue. We know that we will probably never give up eating all meat, but we are certainly eating less, and the meat and fish which we do eat we choose more carefully. And the folks in both the meat and fish departments help me with choices. The flavor of top-quality meat goes a long way. We can do with far less of it. And I know that the Co-op receives lots of local, organic chicken each week. Each of the two larger stores receives a steer, a hog, and a lamb each week. These animals are responsibly raised and appropriately fed on nearby farms. The buyers at the Co-op know the farmers who raised these beasts. And the butchers in our stores will tell me which meats to buy, depending on my wishes, and I can request the cuts I want.
Now I know why I’m spending more on my food today, but I am also enjoying the comfort of knowing that I need not fear experiencing the horrors which I saw in the films or read in the book. Confidence in one’s market-basket choices does not come cheaply these days.
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