Art Isn't Fair
As we head into Oscar weekend, whether you’re planning a dinner party for your film-going friends or trying to squeeze in some last-minute viewings of films that are up for Best Picture, remember one thing: art isn’t fair.
If you fell in love with the subtle violence of Inglorious Basterds, but Avatar wins and it breaks your heart, remember that art isn’t fair. If you’re a huge fan of Gabourey Sidibe but, for some reason, unbeknownst to anyone with good taste, Sandra Bullock takes the Best Leading Actress statue home with her, remember: art isn’t fair. Most importantly, if you’re the corn industry and you’re mad about Food Inc., being nominated for Best Documentary, art might not be fair, but at least it’s honest.
Food, Inc. awakened many Americans to the big sham that is our factory farm food system. But, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is said to be planning a barrage of social media messaging to express outrage over their bad rap from the film. Perhaps, instead of crying about their bad image, they could listen to the message of Food Inc., and strive to change their industry to become, well… less like an industry and more like a farm.
NCGA President and corn grower Hurley, S.D., was quoted as saying, “Because we have an abundant supply, America has the world’s most affordable food, and that’s due in large part to the practices attacked in this film.” So, does that mean that something is good merely because of its abundance? I know someone who once had an abundance of roaches and I’m pretty sure he didn’t consider that a good thing.
The corn industry is mad because they have something to lose: money. Food industry giants keep pushing the idea of quantity and efficiency, which is why they don’t understand the point of the film. Art is desperately trying to show us a reflection of ourselves that’s less than flattering. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t improve. We can change the way we produce, distribute, consume, and think about food. Waking people up to the reality of our broken system with films like Food, Inc., is just the first step.
So, tell your friends to get the word out on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Go to the Food Inc. web site and show your love. Heck, write a letter to your grandma, write it in your diary, or arrange some rocks on your front lawn to say: Cheers to Food Inc. for being honest. Honesty is fair.
–Rich Bindell
Interesting, but Art, necessarily, is neither fair nor truthful. Is this blog post art?
The corn grower was saying that abundance and affordability are linked. You mention roaches… we do not consume or sell roaches! It’s a real problem that we ever have to make a choice between affordable and unhealthy, so please keep the analogies relevant and give the dilemma its due attention…
Thanks for responding, Jimbo. The roach analogy was used to make a point about the food industry. The quote from the NCGA is a typical position taken by many large food companies, that if we want our food to be in abundant supply, we must continue down this path of mass production exactly the way it is now. But we sacrifice quality, integrity, and especially safety when efficiency is more important than method. As for abundance and affordability being linked, one need not look any further than their local grocery store to see that the savings are not really being passed along to the consumer. Farmers get hurt the most by being offered unfairly low prices for their products. Food companies are not passing that savings along to consumers. We want consumers to look more critically at the policies surrounding our food system from field to plate. The blog was a response to the NCGA’s intent to criticize Food, Inc. We think the film did a great job at getting the attention of many consumers, and we applaud it. We appreciate your comments!