By September 16, 2005
Before biting into that sandwich or pouring that bowl of cereal have you ever wondered what is exactly going into the food you are eating? Besides the obvious answers of water, corn syrup and other common ingredients, we may now be entering an age when we have to consider if our foods have been altered on a genetic level. A new documentary, The Future of Food, poses this question and extends an interesting argument about the consequences that genetically altered food may have on the environment and us. The film, created by Deborah Koons Garcia (actually the widow of well know guitarist Jerry Garcia) will be shown at the Willard Straight Theater this Saturday at 7p.m. and be followed by a panel discussion. The Future of Food actually starts out highlighting the early stages of the green revolution when scientists attempted to make crops more similar and mass produced. However this industrialization of agriculture also made it easier for diseases to attack the uniform food supply. As a result, the need for pesticides increased giving a larger market to pesticide corporations, particularly Monsanto. Garcia highlights the unusual phenomenon of how pesticide companies like Monsanto bought up seed companies to control both sides of the market, and then started to develop crops that would hold up to powerful pesticides like Round Up. Even more interesting, the documentary shows how corporations have managed to patent their plants so they can actually own a living organism. The Future of Food is quite straightforward in its criticism of genetically engineered plants. It highlights how farmers have been bullied by large corporations when patented seeds inadvertently pollinate in their fields. The documentary shows how genetically modified organisms, usually referred to as GMOs, threaten the natural development of plant life. It also is highly critical of the government’s passive nature toward the spread of genetically modified organisms as its agencies have been courted and manipulated by powerful corporations. The main theme through the documentary is the unpredictability of GMO science. Garcia’s film argues that unlike other technology which can be built, tested, and dismantled if necessary, GMOs are living organisms that change and adapt. Once a GMO is in the food supply, it cannot be taken back. Therefore GMO technology is taking us into uncharted territory with little hope of retreat. The documentary also asserts that the main argument for GMOs, to combat world hunger, is also false. Instead, Garcia argues that GMOs force subsistence farmers off their land to make for large scale planting and forces them into large urban slums. The film is not just an attack on GMO technology. It offers solutions and other opportunities to GMO food. One such recommendation is the need to label all food that comes from GMOs, which is already being considered in many countries. The other solution offered by Garcia is relatively simple: support you local farmer. The Future of Food argues that the rather complicated world of GMOs can effectively be bypassed by simply visiting a farmers’ market. The Future of Food certainly makes no apologies for its attacks on corporations forwarding GMO technology and it is quite obvious that the film forwards a specific viewpoint. However, The Future of Food effectively brings attention to a pertinent, but often overlooked issue of our time and does so in an easy to understand, and interesting method. After seeing this film, it will be interesting to see the viewpoints of the other members of the panel discussion, which will include Garcia herself. Other members of the panel, moderated by Associate Professor of Nutrition Policy David Pelletier, will include Berkley Assistant Professor of Microbial Engineering in Environment Science Ignacio Chapela, Executive Director of the Organic Seed Alliance Matthew Dillon, Professor Margaret E. Smith of the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics and Professor Emeritus Milton Zaitlin of the Department of Plant Pathology. Archived article by Mark Rice Movie Editor
By September 16, 2005
Following several days of swampy humidity, the weather finally broke sometime last week. With it came some rain, which will hopefully return the grass to green before it becomes shrouded in snow. The temperature dipped low enough one evening that it prompted the donning of a sweater by my friend. I, still content in sandals, shorts and a tee, asked her why; her response was simply, “It’s chilly out.” “Agree to disagree,” I responded. “Well I’m cold.” There was no point in continuing to argue. However, my query had unintentionally sparked some torrid conversation amongst the other girls in the room about the new clothes they had lined up for the fall and winter. I didn’t have much to offer to the conversation, so I sat back and listened to the clamoring group as they talked about everything from Burberry to Polo. Not being entirely interested in fashion, I retreated from the conversation without giving it much thought. But, I was then struck by the truly disheartening insinuation of the conversation: Ithaca is coming. So before anyone delves too deeply into a catalogue or wraps themselves too tightly in a scarf, I’d like to take this opportunity to remind us of what’s coming and say adios to what’s falling behind. In just one short month Cornell’s true personality will reveal itself. The libraries will be a bustle with kids strung out on coffee and Adderall. Parents will sprout up on campus in less expensive cars than they left for their kids. And, we’ll all be happily anticipating the end of prelims and the start of fall break. This time of year will come, sadly, with a price. The price will be steep, and drain us all of more than money. Sandals will take their place in the back of the closet, as sneakers, and ultimately boots move to the front. Shorts will serve as little more than filler for drawers and shelves. Sunglasses will be supplanted by beanies, and shirts by sweaters. Sun will give way to gray, and Ithaca will move in and set up shop. But we don’t have to give in to the looming inevitability of Ithaca’s winter yet. My feet are still ripe with a sandal tan, and shirts are still optional. Let us not speak of the fall clothing line or think merrily of tromping to class in Uggs; embrace the warmth – or what’s left of it. Cornell is much more pleasant with a sparkling lake below and clear blue skies above. Take joy in those who consider the Arts quad an ultimate Frisbee stadium rather than a confluence of paths to navigate the snow. Smile and remember the congregation of students basking in the sun far beneath the suspension bridge. Be sure to get your sandwich from Mac’s and find a seat outside in the glistening sun to enjoy your meal. Take these moments and remember them, because Cornell has a date with Ithaca, and she usually buries us in not too temperate weather. Ithaca is coming my friends, and even though I will brave the outside with sandals until my toes turn blue, I too will eventually give in and lace up my Wolverine snow boots. Fall break will slink by, and October, November and December will strike us down with great vengeance. Despite snappy fall and winter ware, we’ll still find ourselves crunching across frozen fields. Our faces will always be tilted downward so as to avoid the icy bite of an Ithacan wind whipping around the clock tower. The once sparkling lake will give way to its alabaster surroundings as it is slowly encroached upon by ice and snow. The snow will pile up so high one night you’ll have to put your shoulder into your door just to get it open in the morning, but classes wont be canceled, not here – it would take an act of God to cancel classes at Cornell. But all ye new students fear not, for with a Cornellian seven month winter comes some positives. Ithaca will grant us with at least three or four sunny clear days between November and March. There is a chance that we’ll return from spring break and find no snow on the ground. And, last but certainly not least, the snow provides the slope with an ultimate sledding experience. That said, I’ll still take sunshine and Snoop on the slope any day over sledding. I apologize for a grim outlook on the weather, but I offer as much only to remind us all of how nice it is now. We should use every day left to enjoy green grass and trees with leaves. Take a Sunday afternoon and enjoy a rousing match of Frisbee golf just north of A-Lot, before its rolling hills are suffocated by winter. Go on a run around Beebe Lake before you form an army of pasty white tread millers in Teagle come November. Inevitably winter will come, and yes we’ll survive, but before it does be sure to enjoy the lake, the sky and the grass. And please, don’t get excited about your boots and Burberry yet, because we’ll have plenty of time for that.Archived article by Brad Hill Sun Contributor