Is Ignorance Really Bliss?

I'm taking a break this week from my series on being a humane consumer to talk to y'all about another important topic.  Food safety.

A few weeks ago I began watching the documentary “Food Inc”.  This documentary really got m
e thinking about how ignorance is a really bad thing especially in situations like this.  Ignorance is affecting our ability to change things.

For example, the movie shows Wal Mart corporate employees working with Stoneyfield Organic – a brand I happen to love.  The employee said that Wal Mart began carrying some organic products based on consumer demands.  Consumers changed one of the largest corporations in the world.   We have the power to change things, but we also have to power to keep them the same.

The guy who founded Stoneyfield was often accused by his friends of selling out but explains that by getting his product on the shelf at a place like Wal Mart, more people are seeing it and getting educated.  He also said it proves that you can produce foods safely and organically and still do very well on the business end.   So more people are exposed to eating organically than if he just targeted health food stores.   I completely agree with his strategy.

This is why this next part really bothers the crap out of me.

When I put my initial reaction to the documentary on Facebook, a lot of people said they’d never watch it because they just don’t want to know.  I’m sorry, but that is the stupidest fucking thing I have ever heard!  Like, ever! 

Our government is basically supporting the poisoning of its citizens because of money, but you’d rather not know?  Let me know how you feel about that after you or a loved one contract E Coli form a burger you ate.   How are we, as consumers, supposed to affect change if we just ignore the issues because "the burgers just taste so good" or “it so cheap"?

This is a huge problem!  I wrote a seven page research paper in my research writing class about the effects of antibiotics in animals on our health and on the environment and let me tell you, it’s not pretty.  And this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what’s wrong with the way food is produced.

I would rather know the gory details so that I can choose my food more wisely.  I would rather know what’s happening and make the choice not to support it.

The same goes for animal testing.  It’s not pretty, so people pretend it doesn’t exist so they can go on buying the $2.00 bottle of body wash and not feel guilty that some poor animal had to be tortured so they can be cheap.

Yes, I do spend a bit more money on food, toiletries, and cleaning products but I know what I’m putting on and in my body is safe and that animals were not abused in the making of the products.  I also know that my fruits and veggies are not filled with nasty pesticides or sprayed with gases.

Being ignorant is not a good thing.  Consumers have the power to affect change by what they buy and what they don’t buy.  If we support local non-factory farms over the products sold in stores or that we know are produced by factory farms, we can really change the food industry. 

However, if we do nothing, things will stay the same and we will continue to poison our bodies in the name of money, laziness and corporate greed.

Watch Food Inc. on Netflix and let me know your reaction.  I would love to know what others think about it.

Exciting News!

EEPPP!   I got the call and I can officially announce my amazing news!!

I have been struggling recently to figure out what I want to do this year after not receiving much financial aid from UBalt.  So, I applied for other schools for the fall and applied for so many jobs it made my head spin!

Well on December 18th, one of those jobs called me and I had an interview the next day followed by a background check, physical, and drug test.   At the interview I had been offered the job if all of those things checked out.  Well, they did and I got the call Monday night to start training on the 20th!!

This is a security job with a company that contracts out all over the world!!  They have also worked security for the Olympics!  I was hired at the highest level for the location that I'll be at but there are so many opportunities to move up and move to different locations!

I will be working at the port of Baltimore and the funny thing is, Josh's company is the place that I'll be working security for!  I want to get through training before I mention the name of the company but I am sooooo beyond excited for this opportunity!

When I say this company is all over the world, I mean allllll over the world!  I am hoping within the next 5 years for Josh and I to save a bunch and move to Either the UK/Ireland or Australia/New Zealand because they are great countries but I wouldn't have to deal with a huge language barrier.  And Josh has been wanting to go back to school so that would be a great time to do it!

So much excitement going on over here!!  Soon, I hope to have some exciting wedding news for you!  I mean there are exciting things happening I just need to get around to blogging about them now that the wedding is only 135 days away!!!  annnnd I am going to get my dress on Sunday!

So much excitement!!! I almost don't have time to complain about how freakin cold it's been here! ;) 

Also, I am currently working a season job as a Loss Prevention Specialist at JC Penney and I think this would be perfect for our store:

I know that would be a serious punishment for me!

What is going on in our world

Casey recently wrote this post, which I encouraged all of my readers to read.  In short, it is about how Hollywood shapes our media and how our culture encourages us to care more about Miley acting like a hooker rather than the events going on in our world and in our country.   I agree with what she says in her post.  As Americans, we need to be more informed about what is going on in our world and our own country.

In response to that post, I am going to post some informative articles that highlight important events that are happening or have happened in the United States and throughout the world.

This article is about a Korean-American who was arrested and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.  The United States is working hard to ensure his safe return to the states.

This article talks about the problems in Syria.  Specifically, that the French government is ready to back the US if action is taken against Syria.

 This article is important to college students who, like me, are drowning in debt from student loans.

Here is a big leap for same-sex couples! Just the next step before it is completely legal.

This is not of much interest to me and the fact that so much time is being spent on this issue is pathetic, in my opinion.  However, for those who do care about the legalization of Marijuana, this is the article for you.

For all the science lovers and travel lovers, this is a very interesting and groundbreaking article about jet lag. It is a very interesting read!

Also, for those who are totally clueless as to the issues in Syria here are a few little bits to get you up to date.  Also, pretty much every news channel has recent articles and developments.  BBC seems to be the least biased new station and the one I turn to most, but I also turn to CNN at times.

* The huge issues started a long time ago but recently got public attention starting in November of 2011 with the uprising against the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad.

*  The problem became even larger in 2012 when more than 200 civilians were killed and more than 300 were injured in shelling by the Syrian government.  The people killed were people who were opposed to the President.

* This year, the Syrian government has been suspected of using chemical weapons against it's citizens.   This is the biggest issue in the news regarding Syria, currently.

* This is a civil war between the citizens of Syria and the Ba'ath government.

*Most US citizens, myself included, do NOT want to get involved in the war.  It is way more complicated then good guy vs bad guy and Al Qaeda is also involved.  It is not a good idea for our safety and the safety of our troops.

Although Wikipedia is not the most reliable source at times, I have read through this page about the civil war and it seems to line up with everything else I have read, so if you really want to know more and want a quick overview, check out this page.