The Meatrix & Meatrix II

Tip of the hat to my buddy Ame and her mentioning of "The Meatrix" over at Bacon Fiend. 

The videos are hilarious, and revolting, at the same time.  Nice, simple animation.  Leo.  Moopheus.  Chickady.  No over-generalizations, just basic facts about industrialized "food" production.  Excellent analogies.

There's 3 main videos:

The Meatrix (link here).

The Meatrix II (link here)

The Meatrix II 1/2
(link here)

It's also available in various other languages (French, Spanish, Chinese, Czech, German, etc).

It was Ame who opened my eyes last year to the evil cruelty of de-beaking egg producing hens, and I've not bought another dozen Trader Joe's eggs ever since. 

While Dr Desert Flower may disparage the "$6 a dozen" duck eggs I get at the Farmer's Market from Crooked Sky farms when we talk to friends and acquaintances about sourcing real food, I love the dark, nutrient rich, flavorful yolks, and my HD cholesterol and triglycerides have never been better. 

Being on vacation last week, I missed my local, organic food sources, more than a little bit.  Yes, I ate alot of almonds and dried fruit, and drank my liver's share of wine & Irish Whiskey, but I did miss my kitchen and my local produce. 

Amsterdam is blessed with a number of restaurants and food stores that focus on local, organic, sustainable fare.  While we were exploring the Cornelis Schuytstraat area (sort of the Scottsdale of Amsterdam, complete with Bentleys, a Ferrari, lots of BMW 7 series parked on the street, etc), DFF and I stumbled upon an entirely organic grocery store that had an extensive wine selection (see below).

As more consumers realize they are loading their families' bodies full of disease causing agents, the price of local, sustainable, and organic goods will go down.  It's like personal computers, cell phones, air bags, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, solar cells... anything that has consumer demand, the market will find ways to provide it more cost effectively.  It's sad that with "food" (as industrial franken-food suppliers like to call it) that's resulted in a rapid race to the bottom, using tax payer subsidized agro-businesses and bussed in immigrant labor to stuff corporate coffers, while making their customers sicker, or even killing some from time to time.

I'll stick with my grass fed beef and happy, beak-equipped chicken and duck laid eggs, thank you.  The fruits and veggies will be certified organic whenever possible, and I'll always strive to chose locally grown, seasonally appropriate foods - those that as Bittman has said 'your grandma could recognize' without all the superfluous additives corporate America have injected to increase their own bottom lines.