Me too

Exploration 12

Devon L. Hardwick

       Watching this film was truly an eye opener.  Growing up on a small farm I have always known the importance of the "small farmer" and his role in the betterment of raising livestock.  From our little farm here in Marion one can see two large hog barns, growing up all I worried about was the horaed smell that always drifted you way, not what state the poor animals inside were being kept in.  The film has presented us with several "natural" farmers who have stopped using antibiotics, but their herds continue to stay healthy, because of the conditions in which they are being kept.  As the film showed us the clips inside the "big" farms that raise chickens, looking at how they cut off their beaks and talons, this truly bothers me, I know that it is better for the other chickens, but it still bothers me.  "What I am supposed to do is leave in it better condition for the next generation than I found it."  We hear this quote many times and think well I recycle and that helps, it does, but here these farmers are truly doing what they are preaching

12

Nathaniel Burbury                                                                                                                   Freshman Comp                                                                                                                                   Mike Lohre                                                                                                                            11/28/12

Exploration 12

I very much enjoyed the documentary “Fresh.”  Their choice of music was quite amusing.  Using happy piano music for scenes with the organic farmers, and ominous tones in scenes with the big operations, they made their cause twice as appealing without using any facts at all.  I believe that one of the main, underlying ideas of this film was the words of the hog farmer’s foreign friend “The only thing that Americans fear is inconvenience.”  When given some thought, these words strike painfully close to home.  We are all guilty of seeking a life of convenience, we have all at some point or another eaten fast food because we didn’t feel like making something nutritious.  And that is simply the culture we live in.  It is hard to change an entire culture because of a personal conviction and a few good examples of success.  There must be a flip side to the small farm coin because a couple hundred years ago that is how all of America lived.  So why did it change?  What aspect of the “Fresh” lifestyle have we romanticized?  Part of it is simply the amount of work that is required to live such a lifestyle.  To operate a farm like the one shown in the film would require a full day of hard manual labor every day of ones exhausting existence.  I am not saying that it wouldn’t have its benefits.  But there was a reason that we moved away from this lifestyle so many years ago.  Also the steps they are suggesting we take are unfathomably large and would affect so many people that do not see a problem with our current society.  Many of them are smart people that can prove that they are right, just as the makers of “Fresh” proved they were right.  I believe that organic living should be a personal choice, and that your choice should not affect the lives of any that do not share your convictions.

I Remember Him

I was a little girl when I heard he was shot and killed.
The TV had it on every channel you could not miss it.

So many comments, conversations of fear, confusion,
anger and disbelief.
I remember becoming afraid like when Kennedy died.
Sitting there a tear streamed down my face for this man
I did not even know.

But I knew injustice had just happened.
I knew he would be missed,
His words, his voice spoke for peace, compassion and
hope, for change that would happen someday.
Yell, I remember at 9 years old listening, watching the marches.
People, were being treated as if they were an infectious disease.
I asked questions, no one ever answered them, they told me to be quiet.
My heart was heavy I tried to make sense of it in my child mind.
I was sad, mad and confused. I remember him.

His face was kind, a gentle voice and I listened when he said
‘He had gone to the mountain’ my heart raced.
My eyes filled with tears I prayed and asked God to watch over
his family and everyone.
His voice was like music in the air, his words were the notes.

Hatred came with men in white sheets, they called themselves the
KKK, I call them cowards.
They would, do such cruel and evil things, they killed innocence.
I spit on them, these small men who hide under bed sheets.
I was a kid but I knew change had come, as we had never seen
before and it made people afraid.
Why, I was not afraid, I remember being so sad.
This man of a different color wanted us to love, to get along, he was
so brave, so kind I wish I had met him.

Police, beating them because of color, but why?
I had so many unanswered questions with no one to answer them.
They arrested men, women, girls and boys.
Those men in sheets with their faces hidden, the cowards.
I remember when Martin Luther King was shot.
Mourning came across the nation.
He had become a brave warrior who just wanted all
God’s children to live in peace.

This man I never will forget and I always strive to treat
every person as he wanted
I remember him even though I was a kid.
He was a man with dignity, respect, love, and vision
Now he is in Heaven and someday I want to shake his hand.
I was just a 9-year-old kid but I remember that day the horrible
injustice they did to him.
I thank him for who he was and his dream for change.
I will always remember him.
What about you?

                                  Written By: Rhonda Hero
                                  November 23, 2012 @

　



                            








                                 

About Fresh... Exploration Twelve

“Every decision we make at the supermarket – what we grow, what we eat – is creating a different future for the land, the farmers, for the diversity of our crops, for the health of our bodies and communities.” (Fresh) I have seen other documentaries about food, and I thought that this one gave more insight on how processed food - even if natural but not ecologized correctly - can be potentially hazardous to our health. It makes sense that there is a natural order to which the way ecology works and if the ecology of a farm is not properly aligned, then the food it produces will fail to serve its prupose - which is to nurish our bodies. A more simple way to conclude this is what I wrote in my notes from the film: "Industrialization = Mal-nurtritionization." It has been proven - time and time again - that the industry and processing of our foods engineers valuable nutrients out. This film has most definitely refreshed my memory about certain facts. Therefore, I will be eating better as a result.  

Martha Graham

As the ground touches her feet

It assists her to display herself

To express herself

Without the words of her mouth

But with the words of her elegant gait

Through her graceful arm gestures

By her beautiful body movements

She jumps in the air

Unfolding herself with grace and charm

The wind goes along to accompany her

As her feet meet up with the ground again

She brings the charm back from the wind

Then she proceeds to express herself

The emotions are dancing around her

Travel along with her body

 The viewer, I am, motionless

Is she sad?

Is she angry?

Is she?

It’s like an invitation to relate

As I let my own emotions join her

I am lost in her world

As she continues to tell me the story

As her beautiful movements sink me in

They are conversing with me

How brilliantly they communicate to me

She speaks to my heart via dance

She is the one

She is Martha Graham

 

 

 

 

Fresh

I thought fresh was a great film exposing the food and agriculture system. The content was extremely biased though because they never even talked to someone that was for the opposing side. I also have never realized that this was a cause people have been donating their life to, like the man living on the two acres in the city. He attended college yet still left his job to return to the farm life he was raised in. The amount of passion these people have for good food is unimaginable for me. Even though I didn't connect deeply with the topic I still find a lot of highlights in the movie very disturbing. Especially the part where they talk about feeding dead animals to other animals and removing the beaks of chickens. This is definitely an issue that can only be changed by the vote of the dollar. The industry makes too much money and has too strong of lobbying power so despite how morally wrong their ways are the government wont intervene.