Choice/Voice

What are some of your ideas about what we can do to decrease the use of hormones, antibiotics, and environmental pollutants in our food supply and still meet worldwide food demands?

This is a really tough question.

I'd like to remain optimistic in my belief that if only we could educate people who are buying food, that they would change their habits and happily (and willingly) adopt eating habits that say to food producers, "We're not gonna buy your crap any more!" I like to think that if enough consumers are educated then we can change anything. As consumers we are the ones with the power to change what's made available to us. And so half of my brain is wrapped around this ideal that we can get growth hormones and antibiotics and pesticides and maltreatment of animals far far away from our food, and far away from our consciousness(Individual and collective).

On the other hand.

Being an American, a citizen of the Western and Northern Hemispheres, I have to accept that most people are complacent, lazy, and ignorant, and unfortunately it seems that a lot of people have chosen to be that way. Those of us who want better options (who only want the best options, actually), likely plan to work hard toward these goals despite the fact that so many others are just obstacles in our path, who aren't necessarily doing anything wrong, but they aren't doing anything to help either. Because of this FACT, it's going to be much more difficult to regain the strength and power we should never have lost as consumers in a capitalist society.

So how do we reconcile this...

I think it just means that those of us who care about our health as individuals and the health of our societies in general, are gonna have to work extra hard. Obviously we don't want to exclude anyone from the fruits of these labors, but we have to put a lot of energy and information into the people who don't know, don't care, or don't act. What this really means is that in order to get this 'crap' out of our grocery stores, we have to be very picky about where we shop, what we buy, and who we give our money to, in addition to filing complaints, sharing information (and pushing it on people who resist), and choosing NOT TO SETTLE when we feel tired, hungry, and worn out from fighting the good fight.

I failed to mention in my original post how I think we can still meet food demands worldwide. The truth is, there is no shortage of food on this planet. The fact that people are starving has to do with money, corrupt government, and the abuses of capital imperialism. To this end, I don't think pesticides, growth hormones, or antibiotics have anything to do with global food crisis. That is an issue that must be resolved by again, making the reality of these situations known, and choosing as consumers to be more selective in our shopping habits in all areas of life. We have to do our research and know what the companies we support are doing, down to where and how the ingredients of the fabrics in the clothes we buy are manufactured and produced.