Shopping at the local co-op today, I had a brief conversation with a fellow shopper about the ridiculous cost of food, in particular, this head of spinach she was holding.
"Can you believe this??" she asked, holding it up for both of us to see.
"I know, unreal isn't it," I said. I then reminded her I had seen a head of spinach at a local competitor yesterday for the same price, only it looked like crap. Wilted, tiny little leaves.
I noticed a few other shoppers picking up on our conversation, nodding their heads in agreement.
Perhaps that's what we as consumers need to start doing. Start talking outloud while we are in such stores. Start sharing our disgust and disappointment and frustration, right there at the source.
Our conversation ended on this note:
"Something's gonna have to give," she said.
Yep. I couldn't agree more. Something will have to give. Growing our own food is a great idea, but not always practical for everyone, especially renters with no yards or limited spaces.
Nope. Businesses are simply going to have to start eating (no pun intended) more of the cost instead of passing it all on to the consumer. I'm so beyond sick of this trend. Modern day business philosophy: "Our prices increase, we pass it all on to our customers." I make it a point that businesses hear my opinion, pointing out the morality of this all, asking whose income keeps up with these growing costs??? What do they think we're going to do? Sit back and take it?
I predict a new crime will result if things don't change: Food Theft.
Let's make some new ground rules. Any goods or services that are sold/given forth to the public, that are based on survival needs, should be non-profit. Housing. Food. Water. Energy. Clothing. Health care. Remove the profit already, damnit.
Let's grow into this idea, shall we? For it is indeed a moral crime for ANY person to go hungry (homeless, cold, sick, thirsty, etc.) simply because they lack the money, the income to nourish and take care of themselves.
Access to healthy food is a right, not a privilege. Corporate talking heads getting that one?! I'll keep pounding this one away as long as I have the fingers to type and the voice to speak.
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What if, for starters, we provided a farm subsidy for small, local, organic vegetable growers instead of large agribusinesses which distort world markets, are fossil fuel dependent, which means carbon-intensive, not to mention make poor farmers in the rest of the world poorer and more likely to go work in a coal mine. The only reason we haven't is precisely because undoubtedly, farm policies are being written by those same agribusinesses and their buddies in Washington. blah blah blah, its the same fucking story, about damn near every aspect of our lives. health care, energy, transportation, housing, media, military.
Is Obama going to address change at this level? (Which will assuredly mean his own assassination) Or is he simply another puppet of the fascist corporatocracy/oligarchy/lords of the universe?
Here's an idea I've had. Have a union hall thats open to anyone of sorts that also serves as a local business incubator. So if you're unemployed, you can have a "job" (probably unpaid) to read, listen and learn, chat with other unemployed folks, just hang out knowing that you aren't defined by your occupation, but also having an opportunity to offer new ideas with others. I think it should focus on starting businesses that are labor intensive (to promote job security). So something like an urban farm to grow our own food, would be a great place to start, for example.
Turning garbage into fuel is another potential goldmine for jobs. (Check out Coskata)
Building homes and businesses with natural building materials and techniques.
The market alone has created a boom in local organic produce, but imagine if the taxpayers decided, you know what, we can invest in our own communities again (from the federal level) and share the wealth to create jobs at home that provide a decent living, and help create real security in many senses of the word.
People are waking up. We're still here and the possibilities are expanding.
Thanks for sparking my brain. I'm gonna post this on my blog.
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