What's Wrong with Idealism?

Going into this unit I was extremely thoughtless. I figured it was going to be a bunch of
hippy nonsense talking about how we should all live on small community comunes eating only
organic, and happy plants and animals. Because of this I went into this unit with a fairly cynical
attitude and food ethic. Before this unit my ethic was to eat whatever I want from wherever I
want, as long as I knew its effects on my health. Reading books like ​The Omnivore’s Dilemma
and looking deeper into both the industrial, industrial organic, and sustainable organic food
systems my ethic has changed. I still believe people should eat as they choose, but I think we
should spend more time educating people on their food choices. I found it shocking when I was
shown all this information about these different food systems. There is so much that goes under
the public's radar purley because we are uneducated. With proper education I believe most of
our dilemma as omnivores would disappear.

The biggest change I think implementing mandatory food education would do is cause
corporations to become transparent. There is a reason you can’t follow most foods to the
source, and this is because these corporations don't want you to. If we educated the population
they would demand more strict legislation on companies transparency, as well as ethics. Brand
you eat every day such as General Mills, Con Agra foods, Nestle, and many more would be
forced to clean up their act because they would finally be put under the spotlight.

So besides changing the entire education system to include gastronomy which isn't
something that can realistically be done. I am spending much more time looking into where my
food has come from. I was inspired to do this after our trip to sunnyside meats. This in my
opinion was the most important part of this unit. We got to see a cow go from outside in the
holding pen, still feeling the breeze and enjoying the sunshine. To watching it forced into the
butchering room, have its neck clamped into a huge metal bracket, then we watched one of the
butchers shoot two gunpowder charges into its skull making the animas braindead. Soon after it
was hoisted into the air by a winch, then after rolling a large trash can underneath, they
proceeded to cut its throat. From here I watched all the blood drain efficiently into the bin which
was then taken away and the butchering process begun. Seeing this might seem scarring but it
made me trust sunnyside meats more, and now when given the chance I choose animals that
have gone through their processing plant because I know what goes on behind those doors. It
didn’t make me feel differently about eating meat, but it has changed the way I shop for it.

This experience isn’t common for most, and I think this is a problem. Even though it
might be uncomfortable it should be something we all see if we are going to eat meat. In my
opinion if you are unable to watch or afterward think the system is unjust you should change
your food ethic and eat a plant based diet. On the other hand if you can make peace with the
way meat is harvested I think you should be able to eat it. I do not think we should continue this
ignorant bliss we have been living in and we won't see any real changes in our food system until
we are no longer afraid to look at the nasty details of how it works.

That was my experience, and if everyone got to see how their food was produced, I think
we would have a greater initiative for smarter, healthier farming practices that are friendly to
both farmers and customers. I know this seems idealistic, but with enough interest and push
behind creating the ideal food system, it would be possible, and amazing to see.