Sunday, November 27, 2005

It would be so much easier if I would not know


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Originally uploaded by lilypink.
I have taken a week off work to attend the IDFA festival which is one of the biggest and most important documentary festivals in the world. Most defined views I will save for articles but one reaction on my first documentary is something that I wish to share.

I saw a documentary on global food production called We Feed The World. Director Erwin Wagenhofer showed the absurdity of global food production. Just few facts: the amount of bread thrown out in Vienna daily would be enough to feed Graz, the second biggest city of Austria. Rainforests are cut d
own in Brazil in order to produce soya for European chickens.

Yes, chicken. I remember a friend of mine saying that she stopped eating meat when she saw pictures from a sausage factory in a children's programme. In We Feed The World they had horrible pictures of poultry production in Austria. It had more in common with production of bolts than farming. Small animals were packed, transported so cruelly that I could not watch it without tears. It was a concentration camp for chicken. I am honestly considering cutting chicken out of my diet if I don't know how the animals have been treated.

The fundamental question that I was left pondering was who is responsible and how things can be changed. Blaming the CEO of Nestlé is far too simplifying. I think much bigger demons are the subsidies our dear union is using.

2 comments:

ice breaker said...

and the sad thing about all this is that austria has compared to the rest of the world strong regulations and a lot of protection towards animals... now imagine what you eat in the netherlands

Tommi Laitio said...

Genau, my dear. That is why I am considering cutting poultry from my diet.