People say I rant...

     I ranted on for a bit the other day about Food, Inc., a movie I haven't seen yet sort of reviewed, presuming to know what it was about. Food, Inc., is an indictment of Big Ag, which includes Monsanto, Tyson, Cargill, etc., but which I think also includes many of our regular readers. You might say, "It's not right to review a film you haven't seen," and there's a point to that. But in my defense, I would say that a lot of the movie reviews I've read have had almost no resemblance to the movies I've seen.
    Anyway, I will see the film as soon as I can, and report back that my suspicions (prejudices?) were either confirmed or denied.
    Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune had a round-up review today of scary food movies by reporter Christopher Borelli. Food, Inc., Borrelli said, works as a horror movie but I had the  impression from reading Borrrelli that in striving for effect, the movie may have veered from the facts.  He seemed totally horrified by the visuals, but less than horrified by the arguments.  Here for example were his thoughts about the parts of the movie meant to depict Monsanto's evil bent:
    Convincing? Yes -- and no. When he sticks to the coldly efficient details of production, Kenner brings the same outrage and urgency that's palpable on the scariest pages of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle." But his most dramatic argument -- that Monsanto viciously goes after any farm, large or small, that doesn't use its genetically modified seeds -- feels muddled and confusing.
    Borrelli also watched King Corn, Supersize Me and Our Daily Bread. He should never be made to eat popcorn again. If you'd like to read his roundup, the story is here:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/chi-0624-food-filmsjun24,0,5590378.story

    Here's a thought and I'll throw it out and if it gets me in trouble it gets me in trouble. Lancaster County is famous for growing tobacco. And Lancaster County is famous for puppy mills. Tobacco is being taxed and harassed out of existence. I don't smoke, sniff or chaw, so I'm not going to miss the "evil weed." But a lot of Lancaster County farmers depend on tobacco for income. What are they going to do?
    My suggestion is: raise puppies to sell. Okay. So if that thought offends you, and so that you don't have to yell and scream and curse into empty space, my cell phone number is 717-419-4703.
    I don't believe in puppy mills. They're evil.
    But if somebody has four or five breeding bitches, treats them humanely, treats them as companion animals, doesn't overbreed them, doesn't keep them in wire cages, doesn't keep them penned in the dark - doesn't deny them the joy of being dogs - then I think that person should be called a breeder, and respected as such, and not be made to suffer the slings and arrows or outraged humanitarians.
    I bought a purebred puppy a few months ago from a breeder in suburban Connecticut. She had nine dogs, five doggies beds, a couple of crates and a small corrall. In her kitchen. She really, really loves dogs, she is an ardent champion for her breed, and she sells puppies, but she is definitely not a puppy mill.
    I think puppy mills are as much a symptom as a problem. If there were no market for puppy mill puppies, there would be no puppy mills. If puppy buyers asked questions about where their puppies came from and how they were raised, the market would dry up. If the Humane League worked to encourage legitimate breeders, maybe even certifying them, then the League could start working towards solving a problem which, at the moment, seems to have no solution.
    If the AKC stopped sending a thousand sets of regisration papers to the same Lancaster County address, year after year...don't they ever get suspicious?
    It's probably a pollyannaish thing to think that Lancaster County could switch from tobacco farming to become a legitimate and honorable supplier of healthy, well-bred puppies, and, in the transition, run puppy mills out of existence. It could be done without government money or oversight. It could be a free market triumph. Are we not ready for a free market triumph? Especially one that wags its tail and gives sloppy kisses?
    Anyway, it's a thought. Call me, if you want.
    If Polly answers, don't hang up.

Speaking of dogs... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqom4ejIf6I