Food Inc.

I just finished watching Food, Inc. and feel even more motivated to become a farmer. It's wrong for companies to monopolize the food production system. The only emphasis is low cost. That needs to change, because quality is what matters. Our food should be raised humanely and ethically, and sourced locally. People need to care about what they eat.
The big problem is that people often choose the cheapest possible item. The cheapest items in a market aren't organic, local vegetables. The cheapest items are most likely chips, and other processed food.

Watching this film, I was sickened to learn that multinational corporations control most of the food in this country. I think agriculture should consist of small-scale family farms, because it would be healthier. The multinational corporations have the ability to ruin farms and farmers with frivolous lawsuits, of which the only purpose is to continue the monopolization.

Material goods

In this society, people equate love with material objects. In our society, if you care about someone, you are to give them exorbitant gifts. Hand made gifts are often looked down upon, because most people don't value handmade arts. Mass-produced, expensive items are preferred. The Christmas holiday has become a celebration of excess and materialism.
We have become robots, who automatically spend excessive amounts of money in December. It would be good for our society if we could change our habits. Holidays should just be about good, local food, and not about gifts that were produced thousands of miles away.
Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the gifts that I received, I am just pointing out a fundamental flaw in the mentality of our society.

What's the goal?

When talking to people about their futures, the common response is that their sole aspiration is to earn money. I never hear students mention that they want to be happy. It's all about money. I fully realize that money is necessary to survive, but it is overemphasized in our society. Why can't people focus on doing things that are fulfilling, or make them happy? It seems to me like they are afraid of being looked down upon if they don't have millions of dollars.

As usual, I am different. My goal is not to be enormously wealthy. My goal is to be self sufficient and happy. Yes, my goal is to be a farmer. I am well aware that certain people look down upon such a profession. I am also aware that I won't be extraordinarily wealthy. I really don't care about either of these "issues" very much. I am concerned with doing what I want to do.

Christmas

The holidays are upon us. People are planning extravagant feasts, and so am I. I am planning the holiday meal with a different emphasis. I would like to see if I can make a feast using ingredients from the local area. My goal is to source everything from within 200 miles. It will be a challenge to create a festive menu using local items, but I am up for the challenge.
Cooking is one of my passions, so I always enjoy these festivities.
If I can't source all items locally, I will try to source as much as I can from the local area.

Just trying to survive.

I feel as if I am mindlessly going through the motions of urban life. If I could, I would stop this monotonous routine. It feels as if there is no light at the end of the tunnel, because the bankrupt state couldn't afford to pay to keep it on.
I talk to these students at my school, who believe that their best possible future is to join the armed forces, and it makes me sad for them. Rather than set long-term and productive goals for themselves, they are setting destructive short term goals. I don't see anything positive that would be the result of military service. I wish that these students would do something productive.

I can't think about them too much, otherwise it becomes depressing. I simply spend my time thinking about farming, and about my future.
I wouldn't mention my aspirations among these students, because they would look at me in a peculiar fashion, and then make derogatory remarks behind my back.

My generation

I am part of a generation that is very unaware. For most people in my generation, the only agricultural experience that they've had is on a agricultural game online. I want that to change. I am tired of talking to people who don't know anything about food production, and more importantly, have no desire to know. On Facebook last year, when I learned how to milk, I put that as my status. In addition to supportive comments, which mostly came from adults, I got a comment that shocked me. The comment stated that it was disgusting that I touched the mammary glands of a cow. I feel that our culture is flawed if this is the general attitude towards agriculture.

Pressure

I was talking to a family friend, who has an elementary school aged daughter. The daughter routinely spends three or four hours per night on homework. She is taking piano lessons, and was playing soccer. After hearing this, I asked why such pressure would be put on a child. The reason for the pressure is so that the youth of today will be competative tomorrow, and successful. Success is often viewed as having wealth, and material possessions, and an easy life. However, success isn't the same thing as happiness. If people focused on what makes them happy, instead of what will earn the most money, then the quality of life would improve drastically.

Lag in posting

I apologize for not posting more frequently. I haven't been able to dedicate enough time to this writing project, which is quite unfortunate. I have been continuing to live my repetitive and mundane life. I long for the day when I can be surrounded by animals and plants. I long for the day when I can eat the fruits of my labor. For now, I am in a soulless metropolis, so I can only dream.

Fire

Here, in Los Angeles, people are able to create a fire simply by turning on a button. Once the button is pushed, there is a roaring gas flame inside the fireplace. Creating a wood fire is a much longer and more laborious process. People here in Los Angeles seem to have no idea of the process required to create a real fire that provides warmth. They don't know that you have to chop down a tree, or cut the logs to size, or let them cure. Because they don't know about the process, they take fire for granted. If we ever have a scarcity of gas, people will have no idea how to create a fire here.
Gas fireplaces provide instant gratification, without having to do any work, except pushing a button. If people had to do heavy manual labor for each fire, people would appreciate the warmth and light a little more.