Finding Veritas

I taped-up a political cheat sheet today as my first step toward being more present. I aim to understand which legislative and executive committees play the largest role in shaping environmental legislation. I also plan to use this cheat sheet to understand which legislators are most influential and in the most opportune positions to receive campaign contributions.

Though I’m often guilty of hurling angry superlatives about our nation’s lack of perfect information, there’s literally an indomitable fleet of the stuff available on our information superhighway. It’s crazy actually how much we are capable of knowing. Especially as a result of people like the WikiLeaks rogue, the young revolutionaries of the Middle East, and the enterprising journalists of every beat who do not rest until they expose their discoveries to the public. It’s this insatiable drive for truth, justice, and freedom, inherent in the human condition, that makes me so excited to be alive.

Around 1:30 a.m. last I night, I finished watching “Food Inc.” Prior to the film, I had been reading the book, so I had a feel for what my trip down the rabbit hole would be like. But what I saw made me realize that I was fighting a battle in my life between truth and ignorance, and I was losing to ignorance.

Instead of getting nourished from farms, nasty, mechanical, Soylent Green-like operations are dominating the free market, stealing my health, dignity and sovereignty.

A lot has been pinging around in my head today, because of that movie, but the winning concept was to be more pragmatic and more deliberate. In order to achieve results I have to know where I want to wind up and what elements of a system I would like to see bettered.

First Step: Knowing where I want to end up

When I’m old and wrinkly I want to be able to look back and believe that my time on this earth lent itself to harmony with Gaia. If I can do the following, I think I will be happy in wrinkled years.

- I want the energy that I consume to be carbon neutral

- I want the food that I eat to be part of a sustainable life-cycle

- I want the earth to stay beautiful so everyday people can become wildly inspired

- I want the clothes on my back and the material goods in my life to be cradle-to-cradle

- I don’t want to add waste to our closed system

- I want the money I earn (my material good sovereignty) to be earned in harmony with Gaia

- I want these rights to be accessible to others

Second Step: Getting There

Some parts of my wish list are more readily attainable than others, but one thing’s for certain, I’m going to build an evolving strategy for each of my wishes so that I can one day get there. Below are links to the evolving plans for my checklist:

- I ain’t no Fossil Fool!

- Fooooooood that’s gooooooood

- Keeping Gaia Beautiful

- Going cradle-to-cradle

- Waste: Cutting that shit out

- Wage against the machine

- Anything I can do, you can do better

Power Up:

Energy: World Resources Institute estimates that there is a potential market for clean energy products to reach India’s rural poor. The market potential is estimated at $2.11 billion/year and companies surveyed to supply clean energy to India’s rural poor have reported annual gross revenue to have grown by 36% since 2004. In other words, the base of the pyramid – the world’s poorest people - are starting to be able to afford clean energy.

Food: The following is an excerpt from Food Inc. the book: Now nearly ten years have passed [since Fast Food Nation . How has the story of America’s relationship to food changed in that time?

“There has been a sea of change in American attitudes toward food, especially among the educated and the upper-middle class. And there is now a powerful social movement centered on food. Sustainable agriculture, the obesity epidemic, food safety, illegal immigration, animal welfare, the ethics of marketing to children – all of these things are now being widely discussed and debated…There’s been a huge change in eating habits and awareness among the well-educated and upper-middle class. For proof of that just look at the success of Whole Foods, the Food Network, the rise of celebrity chefs, the spread of farmers’ markets, all the best sellers about food…I hope the food movement will grow and extend more broadly throughout society. And we need a government that encourages that.”

~ Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation

America's Food Revolution sparks 'Food For Thought'

This image, given on Food Inc.'s official website, brings hope, disdain, syphilis and a festeloon of other evocations while it resonates as a symbol of the Food Revolution, which is currently sweeping the States.

“There are no secrets in life, just hidden truths beneath the surface.” Also, “the way to the heart is through the stomach.”

So much wisdom, so much relevance, so much to write about. The brilliant words of Dexter Morgan and of the Infinite Mind’s Foods and Moods podcast are an apt summation of my dance with destiny right now.

I’ve just waltzed into America’s Food Revolution. Yes, I’m very late into the game, but better late than never. I picked up the book Food, Inc. from the library last week and guess what, I’m already incensed. But motivated! I’m ready to punt those fucktard factory-farm behemoths straight out to the Mariana Trench. As for Fast Food, it’s sayonara time. Truth be told, it’s been sayonara time for quite a while now, but I have those occasional backslide moments, after a few too many of the world’s finest Pabst Blue Ribbons, where I indulge in late night Fast Food. Nunca más – the Bert Boycott has begun.

So here’s the skinny of our nation’s food situation, but for the love of all that is sacred don’t take my word on it. Read Food Inc., Fast Food Nation, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, or Food Politics. We’ll have a discussion that could blow the Finer Things Club out of the water, and then we’ll take our knowledge and transform our vapid eating styles into something momentous and in line with the pursuit of happiness.

Anyway, the skinny… (You’re supposed to read this like you’re Dick Vitale, cramming dump truck loads of information into an ESPN-sized allotment of 30 seconds.) READY, SET, GO

FacFarms wreak havoc on the landscape due to runoff from agricultural inputs like fertilizers and pesticides, or animal waste, in the case of the meat industry. The runoff in turn causes people to get sick …We’ve got blue baby syndrome arising from pesticide runoff and workers getting a host of ailments from the animal waste. Meanwhile FacFarms are very deeply entrenched and very protected by Uncle Sam. They make a lot of money and have lot of lobby bucks to ensure their survival. As these FacFarms currently operate, they disburse their foods to all ends of the country and around the world, so their carbon footprint gets quite extensive. As a result we’ve got personal welfare, democracy, and climate change all at stake.

So what the hell is there to do about it??? Farmers markets and Whole Foods is a start. If you’re like me and you don’t have a lot of money to spend, I suggest doing the easiest thing, start cutting meat out of the diet. The meat packing industry’s malfeasance dwarfs the heck out of other ag industries. Plus, less meat is better for the figure.

For my own personal effort I am going to begin Food For Thought. All of you loyal readers who have been anticipating Food Game, I apologize for the craziness. It will all be explained when the rules for Food For Thought get hashed out.