Foundation Journal

The annual Rural Life Day in Jefferson City, Missouri was held December 7 at the Alphonse J. Schwartze Memorial Catholic Center with keynote presentations from Prof. Marie George of St. John’s University and Mike Callicrate. The conference focused on sustainability and ethics of food, farming and ranching. Rural Life Day was organized by Catholic Charities of Northwest and Central Missouri, an organization that started two years ago. The small group I traveled with from Kansas City drove to the conference starting at daybreak driving along state highway 50. East of Sedalia the road changes from a four-lane divided highway to two lanes to Jeff City. During this part of the trip the road winds through picturesque hilly farmland.  It's an area that has supported farming and food production for generations. This is the same route my Dad took when he worked part-time for a chicken ranch in high school in the early 1940s, riding a train from Sedalia to St. Louis, watering chickens...

Following the success of films about out-of-control food industries like "Super Size Me," "Food Inc," and "Fast Food Nation," the upcoming film " Dive! " takes an angle on food waste and hunger in USA. The film seems to capture not just the desperation of recovering food from dumpsters, but the magnitude of the waste problem. Harvesters food bank has had a long-time food rescue program, but it's just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, the food rescue program was one of the original programs at the food bank. This film is part of KC Film Fest this Saturday, April 17, 2010. Dive! Trailer from Compeller Productions on Vimeo .

Saw Food Inc at Leawood theatre this evening -- plenty of open seats. The film wove several threads of the food business -- mass production, diminishing farmer control of production, heavy emphasis on meat production and corn, impact on health of Americans -- to tell an important story that big business does not have the interest of consumers or the environment in mind. This is a must see for those just learning about trends in consumption and food growing. I especially liked hearing a woman "TSK" loudly eight rows back reacting to comments from a woman chicken grower in the film discuss conditions in a chicken tunnel. The film focused on Monsanto's wrath tracking a seed cleaner who assisted farmers recover seeds for the next season's planting. The segment in the film reminded me of a solid article on the same topic that featured small farm businesses in Pilot Grove, Missouri, where my mom's side of the family hails from. See "Monsanto's Harvest of Fear...