The Lie of the Land (documentary)

While we are on the discussion of meat consumption, especially beef, I thought I'd ask you guys to keep an eye out for the documentary titled "The Lie of the Land" by Molly Dineen. I saw it on the CBC's Our World News series.

"Dineen lays bare our hypocritical attitude to animals - why was so much time at the highest levels of government spent on protecting foxes when thousands of pheasants and calves are culled every year because they are simply not economically viable? Why is the value of one animal life so much higher than another's?
Many of us, perhaps wilfully, shield ourselves from the reality of the food we eat - dead cows helpfully appear as abstract chunks of flesh squashed into cellophane wrappers, no extra thinking required to throw it into a frying pan. The effect of that ease of consumption, where supermarket monopolies mean that it's cheaper to import cows from Venezuala than to rear calves born in England, is given a human face in Dineen's film.
Dineen said that her main aim was to tell the story of the hidden characters who live and breathe Britain's countryside. She told her Hay audience that her own opinions were carefully tempered in the film. But perhaps because her central argument is already beginning to strike a chord in Britain, her film's message remains forceful.
Our refusal to pay an extra penny or three for a pint of milk forces farmers to stop farming; it ends in the conversion of farms across great swathes of the country into second homes for the wealthy. And it isn't helped by a government policy that is indifferent about whether the food Britain eats is grown here."

Despite being based in England, the same scenarios are being played out all around us. The coporatism, laws and monopolies are strangling the rural family farmer and reducing our security and resilence by forcing us to rely on products shipped overseas or else mass produced in CAFOs which have a whole host of problems associated with them (disease, cruelty, working conditions, illegal workers and practices, environmental damage, etc..)

I attend meetings for the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition and have met many ranchers as well as government workers (Dept. Fish & Game, CDF, County officials) and environmental groups (The Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society, Ca. Native Plant Society). I was forced as an "environmentalist" and budding scientist to listen to these ranchers and how many of them do care about national health and the environment and I'll tell ya it has really transformed my opinions on how our lifestyles effect everyone and everything around us. The information contained in the documentary is like a slap in the face, the kind that brings you back into reality. The reality that shows us there is no free ride and there is no such thing as cheap food or cheap fuel. Somewhere someone or something pays the price.... We can change some of the negative effects by changing our diets and the things we purchase. You like beef? Great, look into local growers/ranchers and spend a bit more for quality meat that supports local economies and family farms. Sure you might pay $20 for a med. sized steak but if you didn't eat as much meat then everything averages out in the long run, especially when you consider the health benefits. Still can't afford it? Take a look at the items in your bag the next time you go shopping and see which ones are providing you with quality nutrients and which ones are junk, then toss out the junk.

Some of the benefits to supporting local ranching include:

1) Tastes Better: Not only are you eating high quality food close to the source, but you are literally becoming part of this unique landscape, the taste and essence of New Mexico.

2) Benefits Your Health: Grassfed animal products have been shown to be
higher in beta carotene (Vitamin A), conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), Omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin E which are important in reducing cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure and other life threatening diseases. Grassfed beef’s lower Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acid ratio is linked to reduced heart disease and greater bone density. Grassfed products are lower in fat, cholesterol and calories. In addition, the risk of infection by E. coli in these products is virtually eliminated – American Grassfed Association

3) Improves Animal Health: Grassfed animals are raised on rich grasses and
forages, and on open land, free from the stresses that industry-raised animals experience. No feedlot confinement. No routine antibiotics and hormones. No dependence on grain and animal protein feed, which are challenging diets to a ruminant who thrives on grass and forages.

4) Preserves Genetic Diversity: Ranchers and Farmers breed for animals that are compatible with their land and climate and for other beneficial traits. Ranchers and Farmers are not beholden to the “uniformity†and “homogeneity†of certain breeds required by the large scale meat production industry.

5) Supports Local Farm and Ranch Families: Small farms and ranches. And the families who run them are vanishing, often due to prices below the cost of production. Farmers and ranchers who sell directly to you, get the full retail price fortheir food, which means these families can afford to stay on the farm or ranch, doing the work they love.

6) Builds Community:
• Buying direct re-establishes a time-honored connection between the eater and the grower. You become a “co-producer†in a healthier food system.
• Knowing the farmer or rancher gives you insight into the seasons, and the miracle of raising food.
• Knowing the farmer or rancher makes you aware of how fragile our local food system is and how you can make choices that strengthen our community’s ability to feed itself.
• It can give you access to a farm or ranch where your children and grandchildren can learn about nature and how to work with nature to create food.

7) Preserves Open Space:
• Ranch and Farm landscapes that many of us enjoy are rapidly disappearing in New Mexico. What remains will survive only as long as ranches and farms are financially viable.
• Selling Ranch and Farm Lands for development becomes less likely as we begin to “re-value†the food we eat and pay the fair price (the true cost of production) directly to our ranchers and farmers.
• Buying direct means you are being proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.

8) Keeps Your Taxes in Check:
• Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services.
• Suburban development costs more than it generates in taxes.
• On average, for every $1 in revenue from residential development, government must spend $1.17 on services…a net loss that just keeps increasing!
• For every $1 of revenue from farm, forest or open space, government spends $.34 on services…a net gain for all of us!

9) Supports Clean Land, Water and Air and Benefits Wildlife:
• A well-managed family ranch or farm values the resources of fertile soil and clean water. Grassfed cattle deposit “fertilizer†across the landscape, a great benefit. Feedlot animal waste is concentrated and stockpiled, being responsible for contaminating local sources of water.
• Use of fossil fuels is reduced. No petroleum based chemical fertilizers or pesticides (normally used to grow feedlot grains.) No fuel used for transporting grain, animal waste and animals to and from feedlots.
• A well-managed family ranch or farm builds resilience and biodiversity of the ecosystem and “captures†carbon dioxide emissions to help reduce greenhouse gases and thereby, global warming.
• Ranch and Farm habitat creates large, contiguous wildlife corridors, which are beneficial “homes†for the smallest of insects, to the largest of mammals. Large tracts of ranch and farm land are becoming some of the “only homes†left for migrating birds and herds of ruminants and many “endangered species.â€

10) Creates a Future For Us All:
• By supporting local ranchers and farmers today, you help ensure that there will be ranches, farms, and knowledgeable food providers in your community tomorrow.
• Future generations will continue to provide and have access to nourishing, flavorful and abundant food right in your own community.


11) Builds a more resilient society: (my addition)

• One that can stand a collapse in global trade due to climate change, warfare, declining foreign relations, disease, etc..

(Source)

 

Good arguments but I am not going to argue back only because I agree that "food miles" does not always have anything to due with sustainability although I can have a lot to do with reliance and national security. Place like Australia know all about "food miles" as their imports and exports are effects by milage in a huge way. On the other hand, buying tomatoes from Chile in the middle of our winter is not sustainable because we can grow our own, just not all year long. There are many grey areas and arguments can be made in 10 different directions but when you boil it down to... Do we NEED to eat this particular item right now? Then all the fuel spent tranporting items, growing them, fertilizing them, etc. becomes a moot point. The energy will not be spent at all if we just decided not to eat that item. Some areas must rely on imported food because their geographic area does not support agriculture or ranching but in the case of a Californian buying a tomato from Chile in December, well that is just not sustainable.

As for NZ wine, I LOVE Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. It's a guilty pleasure and NZ makes the best Sauvignon Blancs.

 

I will definately try it as per your recommendation my friend.