How You Vote Every Week and May Not Realize It

At the end of the film “Food, Inc.”, we are reminded that every time we as consumers buy food at the grocery store, we are essentially voting with our wallet and choosing the way we want the food industry in our county to go. A perfect example of this reality happened to me this past weekend when I went to wholesale store Costco. I was drawn there by the allure of more affordable new tires for my car. While they worked their magic, I had some time on my hands and wandered around the store.

The last time I shopped at Costco was probably in the 90's with my mom, stocking up on Bagel Bites and Chicken Taquitos . Let me tell you, a lot has changed since those days, and I believe that it has everything to do with customer demand.

Every aisle held surprises as I noticed a startling amount of healthy foods: bags of frozen fish fillets, huge jars of almond butter for $5, bags of steel-cut oats, and organic chicken and beef. The samples we tried (always the best part of a Costco trip) included free-range chicken meatballs, fruit smoothies made in a Vitamix blender, and Organic Tuscan Italian dressing (made with sea salt) on vegetables.

This was a far cry from the Whitecastle frozen mini hamburgers I remember being offered on childhood visits to Costco. While the store may still stock the freezers with Bagel Bites, they are also adding a lot of health-conscious selections. At least where this business is concerned, the voice of the people is being heard and catered to. So never underestimate the power of your vote for organic/local produce and free-range/grass-fed/sustainable meats!

And in case you’re wondering if the Costco hot dogs taste better now than in the past, the answer is sadly: not really. But I had to check just in case, because hey, $1.50 with drink included is hard to turn down. I never learn.

Séraphine

I love a good French film. Certain things will be expected in this genre: unsexualized (even unattractive) nudity, blunt conversations, and a fascination with food and the countryside. The sound of the French language is a comfort to me after all the years I spent studying it in high school and college.

This weekend, I was treated to the award-wining film Séraphine, based on the true story of a lonely housekeeper who, at age 41 in 1905, begins painting beautiful floral art. Untrained and using paint her makes herself, she finds inspiration in nature and the stained glass of the cathedrals she regularly visits to sing religious hymns. One day shortly before WWI (around 1914), she is discovered by a German art critic and dealer who recognizes her untainted talent and encourages her to develop it. Below, see examples of her work:

The film portrays the fine line an artist walks between inspiration and madness, and made me long to create something beautiful. I generally consider food to be my main creative medium, but occasionally I feel sad that such beauty can only last as long as it takes one to consume it. Then, it becomes a part of our very bodies, unseen but perhaps still felt and remembered. Still, I feel envious of painters, who have the ability to create something beautiful and enduring. I also would like to return to the French countryside now more than ever. Its beauty could inspire art in anyone!

Walking with Books

Keira Knightly, as Ms. Elizabeth Bennett, takes a stroll through her estate

The weather is surprisingly cool in Sacramento of late, particularly in the mornings and evenings, and the breeze carries the promise of fall weather. Now that the sun is less scorching, I start to think about going on walks.

It seems like many of my favorite movies feature heroines who favor long walks in the countryside, often with book in hand. From "Anne of Green Gables" to "Becoming Jane", I favor the literary-inclined, intelligent female lead. Of course, there’s always "Pride and Prejudice", where the swelling piano music plays while the sun rises over a gorgeous English landscape. When fall comes, perhaps I will make a point to take a jaunt through the countryside for a little leisurely reading. What book or type of book would be ideal to read in such a setting?

The Daily Good Deed

I recently re-watched one of my favorite movies, Amelie, a French film about a shy young woman who has difficulty interacting with people because of her reclusive childhood. One day, she discovers a hole in her apartment wall in which a young boy stashed a box of his treasured toys 40 years before. After she restores it to it’s rightful owner, she begins dabbling in altruism as a hobby. I love one scene in which she guides the neighborhood blind man down a street to the metro stop, verbally narrating all of the sights, smells, and sounds of the neighborhood, giving the lonely man a fleeting vision of the world around him.

Watching this film always makes me consider what simple good deeds I could do to make the world a little better. Doing a good deed takes me outside of the me-oriented survival bubble that working often leads me to create. Today, I went for a walk and saw a plastic bag in the pond where baby ducklings were swimming, so I fished it out with a sturdy stick and threw it in the nearest garbage can. I believe in the possibility of small gestures making a big difference to someone, somewhere - even if it’s just one piece of litter or one less drowned duckling.

I found some ideas for good deeds - browse and happy good deed-doing!

*Give an honest compliment to 5 people you meet today.
*Every night, for a week, write down 10 things that you are thankful for that happened during the day.

*Share a book.
*Make encouraging bookmarks and leave them inside books of a public library.
*Email someone you admire and tell him/her why.
*Write a letter to your public official and express your suggestions for the community.
*Write a note to thank some one who has positively influenced your life.
*Cook a meal for your family.
*Buy flowers for your mom (or dad).
*Donate old books to a worthy cause.
*Start a "free hug" campaign. (Note: I have actually seen college kids at the Davis Farmer’s *Market doing this - now I know what it was about!)
*Use reusable bags.
*Water the plants.
*Plant a tree and/or a garden.
*Use ladybugs instead of pesticides.
*Teach someone a skill that you know.

"Bright Star" - Does It Satisfy My Obsession with Romantic British Film?

I missed the highly praised British film "Bright Star" when it first came out in theaters, but put it in my Netflix queue and watched it last night. It seemed like the sort of subject matter that I would enjoy: semi-biographical story of Romantic poet John Keats and his relationship with his muse, Fanny Brawne.

I liked:

- The interesting details about John Keats that I never learned in English poetry classes, such as his love for his brother Thomas who died of tuberculosis, his penniless position in society that prevented him from marrying, his friendship and financial dependence upon friend and would-be poet Christopher Brown, his bouts of depression and own ill health that resulted in his untimely death at age 25 also of tuberculosis. (Geez, who didn’t die of "consumption" in those days?!)

- The elements of Keats’ poetry that are brought to life visually - such as the image of Keats suspended in the tops of trees, wandering flowery meadows, or Fanny keeping a butterfly garden that is as lovely as it is temporary. The visual depiction of Keats' love of nature and the inspiration he draws from beauty is moving.

On the other hand:

- I know poets are typically imagined to be moody, sickly, and effeminate, and the actor who plays Keats certainly fits the bill. But it was a little too much - I didn’t get as wrapped up in the love story as I expected to because I had a hard time believing that he was really attracted to a female. The fact that I first saw Ben Whishaw in "Brideshead Revisited" in which he played a very convincing homosexual probably didn’t help.

- Fanny kind of bugged me, with her up and down emotional vicissitudes, her pathetic sobbing one minute and romantic bliss the next, not to mention her over-the-top reaction to Keats’ death in one scene. "Mother! I can't breathe! I can't breathe!"

Overall, I found the film to be interesting, if not as compelling as I’d hoped it would be.

My Thoughts on "Food, Inc."

Last night, I watched the much-hyped movie "Food, Inc." It felt like a condensation of two best-selling books ("Fast Food Nation" and "The Omnivore’s Dilemma") put on film. It was an excellent reminder (and perhaps educational tool for the non-readers out there) concerning the industrial system that controls food production and the perils of eating in America. It also reminded me to consider where my food comes from, particularly when grocery shopping or choosing where to eat out.

I really liked the end of the movie, in which the film points out that each time we make a purchase at the grocery store, we are essentially voting: organic or non, free-range or CAFO-produced meat, natural or genetically modified.

Even in an economy in which a product’s price weighs heavily in consumer decisions, there is room for improvement. While not everyone’s budget can support a weekly trip to Whole Foods, we can all choose to eat less meat, and to choose "free-range" over the bad boys of the Industry, such as Tyson. We can buy organic produce such as apples, where it really makes a difference, even if we can’t afford to go organic all the time. We can patronize farmer's markets when possible. Overall, it was an inspiring movie.