I would like to take this time to thank those readers who have sent emails wishing me well, and offering suggestions, on the film that I am currently shooting. The film focuses on the vegan lifestyle theme depicting a vegan man searching for the perfect vegan girlfriend in a fictional comedic story. As a vegan, I admit to having a little fun by poking at the stereotype beliefs of many people as I debunk popular myths about being vegan through character development and plot in my films. Also, I would like to clear up a question that pops up now and again about my approach to filmmaking on the subject.
Question: Do (you ) avoid making factual and documentary-type films on vegans? Answer: Not at all, I just feel that as the vegan lifestyle has become more widely accepted and understood by health-conscience peers, the door is opened even further to advocate that cause by presenting the characters as “normal” and subject to life’s daily events (movie material) like everyone else. Thanks again for asking and for the emails you send (including 2 scripts that I have read)…keep them coming.
One pointed example of dealing with factual issues about diet and health is my deep concern about food safety in this country. It is estimated that the average dinner salad ingredients have traveled 1400 miles to reach our table. For our non-vegan countryman, that use animal products in your diet, you can expect at least that distance for your evening meal. The fast-growing “global economy” is responsible for an ever-increasing traveling distance for our food. An excellent blog: http://foodsafetycentral.net, gets our well-served attention about the problems associated with importing food. Articles like:
“Tyson Foods Enter Brazilian Poultry Industry”, “China promises better food safety standards…”, and a dear-to-my-heart article, “Heart disease – diabetes linked to BPA…”, a reference to bottled water that is tainted with a “potential” toxic chemical in the lining of plastic bottles. Unfortunately, we cannot rely 100% on the FDA screening for health issues on these distant imported goods. I ask you to consider reading a recent article: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/09/10/food-safetys-dirty-little-secret.html?s_cid=et-0910. I was shocked and horrified to discover that the FDA is under funded and understaffed to handle our rapidly expanding food chain. As a result, the responsibility for food safety is largely being delegated to the producers and retailers that market the food. The article cites examples of conflicting interests when Government raids exposed that many slaughter facilities saved money by cutting out E. coli tests.
Say Whaaaaaaaaaaatttttttt???????????
I am not attempting to spread fear about these issues (I will leave the fear-mongering to our politicians). Rather, I hope to spread a “word to the wise”. I have written about the benefits of locally grown vegetables in recent blog articles. These backyard and homegrown models of food production appear to be the best solution to the problems associated with shipping food over ever-expanding distances. I have always advocated eating the most freshly-picked vegetables you can get for nutritional value. I will now add a longer list of benefits to raising your own food that includes food safety benefits. We must become responsible for what we eat and where it comes from before this trend goes much further. Are you actually ready for a time when the FDA, in a cost-cutting decision, turns to you and says: “folks…you are now on your own”?
I read desperate comments left on blogs that reflect a growing frustration from people who have learned the importance of growing your own vegetables, but lack the skills to do it. Don’t worry, you have a great idea and there IS help available. Your frustration stems from the rapidly disappearing, or dare we say –nearly lost, skills that were taken for granted on the “family farms” of past generations. So, where in the world could the average person start from scratch and learn to “grow like pro”? Try Missoula, Montana.
I recently spoke with Tim Hall, the community garden director of the Garden City Harvest program located in the western Montana town of Missoula. He told me an amazing success story about a program started in 1996, growing vegetables on a small plot of land that ballooned into a sprawling network of vegetable gardens supported by the entire community. You can find out more about this program through their website located at: http://gardencityharvest.org/index.html. Tim says they offer garden-growing help to everybody that participates in any of the four programs within the Garden City Harvest organization. According to the website, the help comes from: different grants, foundations, local schools, the Courts, a supporting staff, a board of directors, local businesses, private donations, local buyers (shares), volunteers and others. The help goes to: students –for class credit, local food banks, volunteers (paid in-kind for their work), low income recipients and others in an effort to meet the goals of GCH’s mission statement:
Garden City Harvest’s Mission Statement:
1. Provide high quality food to low-income people.
2. Offer education and training in ecologically conscious food production.
3. Use our sites for the personal restoration of troubled youth and adults.
The mountain of work to coordinate all of these different interests seems to be a daunting task. However, over time, the pieces have fit together perfectly to form a truly “win-win” program that could easily be the right model for future growers of local vegetables. The hard-to-get resources of seeds, tools and plots of land have already been found and organized for the participants, together with a two-way communication system that provide answers for the participant to the never-ending questions about growing. Credit goes to the hardworking staff made up of dedicated and passionate people like Tim. To those of us who worry if it is even possible to grow our own vegetables, once we choose to do so, the answer is a resounding “YES”. People like us are doing it right now, even as we read this blog.That is proof that it can be done.
For others of us who are already growing vegetables; by learning from parents, are self-taught, or have found help, take at look at this model – it works. Many frustrated people need a helping hand from you that have gained the experience. You may be pleasantly surprised by the benefits of helping. After all, “you reap what you sow”, right?
On Tuesday, the UN released a report on stating that the easiest way a person could help to curb global warming was to eat less meat. The report went on to state that livestock production has a bigger climate impact than transport.
Hmm…if it’s so important why didn’t Al Gore put it in his film, An Inconvient Truth? Hopefully, the environment will get more pundits that Al Gore.
Well almost, there are a few more details to work through, but he is definitely headed in the right direction. Actually, I have seen his YouTube videos for a while now and wanted to share those with you. This man and his beautiful family are heroes. Why? They care about those of us that want a sustainable food supply within our control to produce. Those of us that the retailers would let go hungry if we couldn’t pay and those of us who are increasingly sacrificing quality and quantity as food prices go through the roof. Our basic needs are under attack.
The Jules Dervaes family has planted the entire front and back yard of their home with edible plants. They even grow enough extra to sell fresh vegetables to local restaurants, share with friends and neighbors and feed their small group of animals. He is genuinely on to something big, and he knows it. When they are not working their 40-50 hour week down home (literally) on the farm, they host a lecture series and attend speaking engagements for a variety of groups. Why so passionate about food? You may have already guessed that it goes beyond having a full stomach for them. The name of their website gives us a big hint: www.PathtoFreedom.com. Here, the Dervaes remind us that “freedom” is earned and cannot be taken for granted. In fact, there are forces (lets call them market forces) trying to gain control of the food market for their profit. If they can control the supply of food through hoarding seeds, and the other means of production, we will pay them for their effort with whatever price they wish to charge. On a gut level we know this is wrong. Through his lectures Mr. Dervaes goes beyond that gut feeling to announce a heart-felt conviction that we have the “freedom” to make our own food production choices. He writes:
“In our society growing food yourself has become the most radical of acts.
It is truly the only effective protest, one that can—and will—overturn the corporate powers that be.
By the process of directly working in harmony with nature, we do the one thing most essential to change the world…”
That family “walks the walk; and talks the talk.” This author eagerly joins the chorus of voices now speaking out about important issues related to healthy food. The message is spreading rapidly, these healthy food choices can be yours. Try it yourself, feel the benefits being offered, then help spread the word to others as a humanitarian gesture.
Click the video link to see the tantalizing rows of greens and vegetables. Perfectly laid out and cared for, enough to make this vegan grab his fork. Thank you Dervaes, for all that you do. Watch other videos where Mr. Dervae lectures to students at the UCLA campus in Ca. where he takes questions afterwards. I only have one question for this ambassador of green living: “can I live with you guys?”
Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, starvation, global warming, economic crisis, crime, healthcare, disease, petrol prices, debt…is it just me, or is the world seemingly out of control and getting worse? Like any species, our survival depends on our ability to adapt to outside threats. What happens when those dangers are so pervasive, so overwhelming and so insidious that they threaten to end the world as we know it? Answer: most people go to a movie. They watch some escapist adventure or silly comedy and forget about their problems. This is where I come in – filmmaking skills in hand – what an opportunity!!!
It seems that the media, including many films, promote a never-ending ration of mind-numbing sensory bombardment, designed to instill enough fear of our surroundings to keep us in a comatose state, not daring to act or defend ourselves against these overbearing threats. Instead, the occasional look in the mirror finds us staring at a victim that has lost his way. We take comfort in speeches by our politicians that tell us that we are “strong”, “vigil”, “persevering” — but lets get real, would we re-elect them if they said we were weak, pathetic and blindly obedient? People then walk through life with their head down, trying to eek out some sort of peaceful existence. So, what is the answer? What can be done to help people wake up? The first step is inspiring hope. Hope that they can change their surroundings, hope that the can live full lives; hope that they can earn the lifestyle they are dreaming about.
Here is a link to that awe-inspiring rant from “the last honest man in media” found in the film “Network”. That urgent “call to action” that makes us run to the mirror for a second look, then to our rooftops to shout out loud that “we are mad as hell; and we won’t take it anymore”.
Filmmaking has the potential to create positive changes for the many. It can deliver the hope that change is possible and offer proof that it is possible by seeing it done right before our eyes – now that’s entertainment. Is it just me, or is it time to start filmmaking?
I intend to use filmmaking to broadcast the good news about the positive lifestyle changes accomplished through diet. I will demonstrate that you can feel better about life, your chances of controlling your own life, and your ability to win against the odds by simply educating yourself about diet. The most immediate effect is health, people feel healthy and empowered. That empowerment gives them the encouragement to change other aspects of their life, creating a “snowball momentum” toward a rewarding lifestyle.
Will you act; or react? There is a lot at stake.
