There was a time when it was common for a typical American Christian to tout the industrialization of food as the worlds saving grace. But now it appears a larger number of Christians have pretty much accepted the fact that when we were given the instructions to “have dominion” over the earth it did not imply we should be doing whatever we want, but that we are to be practicing “Stewardship”.
On the spectrum of consuming meat there are basically two extremes as I see it. One, being you sustain your own livestock for your consumption and for those around you. Two, that your meat consumption is centralized the way it is now by major corporations and the government. Whats wrong with the way it is now? Whats wrong with it from a Christians perspective? I’m not going to think you can’t extract the information on your own so just watch the video. But for the sake of the post I’ll put a few notes below that come to mind after watching this video.
-The most important point is that the existing food system is not sustainable for our children and will require work.
-Thomas Jukes was simply trying to solve a problem and he did it. The cost of food comparatively to other times in history has come down significantly since his work last century. The only proof you need is a “dollar menu”. The only negative comment worth attaching to this point is that some of what we consume that is cheap should not pass as food from a scriptural perspective because it is so lacking in nutrients. The food that God designed us to eat is full of nutrients/vitamins.
-The use of antibiotics is unsustainable. It is ultimately harmful for the animal and the consumer. We are slowly building up resistance to antibiotics including those given to cows. “You are what you eat” and eventually, as you probably have heard before, you won’t be able to cure your kids ear infections just by getting them a antibiotic.
-Food resist being commodisized(sp?). It will push back. Problems are occurring.
-Ground beef is made from spent dairy cows. These cows are packed with antibiotics and growth hormones that cause the cows to have serious health problems. Read here.
-Not only the profit but the existence of major meat producers business is dependent on hiding outbreaks of diseased meat. One mistake of accidentally mixing two batches of meat caused an outbreak of Ecoli. This caused the meat producer to have to recall 23million pounds of hamburger which ultimately caused the company to go out of business.
-Food research investments that could be directed at sustainable food practices has been referred to the private market. The problem with that is that the private market is only concerned with short term profits.
-The mid scale farm is one of the most important parts in building a new food system. Government subsidies should be going to the mid scale farm not the large agribusiness corporations that are already doing fine.
Just a dude with a blog that probably shouldn't have one.
