Monday, May 25, 2009

we.need.to.eat

Took these self portraits using the repeating timer feature on my camera with the NYSPP in mind. I ended up submitting something different but it was definitely interesting being by myself at a dark and sketchy loading dock past midnight with a couple thousand dollars of equipment balanced on top of a stack of about 4 milk crates and attracting attention with ridiculously bright flashes every 30 seconds. Who needs tripods when you have a bit of sketchiness and imagination? =)












In a world where a child dies every 30 seconds from starvation, the major food outlet corporations of our society continue to waste thousands of kilos of perfectly good food every night, simply because it is profitable to do so.

The unfortunate circumstances of me being a student with not much spare cash and the owner of a carnivorous animal who does not want to support the meat industry, means I have taken to supplementing both of our diets from this dumpster fairly regularly.

Even though the vast majority of food I find in there is far from spoiled, my recent interest in local, organic food means I find myself going there more and more purely for the latter purpose than the former. I bought food from these fucking places for so long I forgot what it tastes like to eat a vegetable that hasn't been sitting artificially preserved in a warehouse for months before it got to me.

I really hope that if your reading this, you give a second thought to where your food is coming from, how much petrol (or jet fuel) had to be burned to get it to your plate, and what the implications are for your health and the environment. After becoming disgusted with the wastefulness I would experience first hand almost every night I went there, I now source almost everything I eat from local producers such as the local food co-op and farmers markets. After realising how much better for the farmers, my health and environment it is, I really hope you consider doing the same. You don't need to pay someone to fill a building with processed, frozen food just for the convenience of having it in one busy, stressful, depressing place.
Its bullshit.




4 comments:

  1. I wrote a really good post before but it wouldn't post...so i had to go and get a thing that lets me access IE instead of firefox which is what i use -
    My point was i thought what you said was well said!
    Big corporations bank on your stupidity by changing the marketing style
    For example - woolies new logo is now a Green apple,'fresh food people' and all the interior is trendy browns and architectural styled displays with cardboard signage to make one feel as tho they are shopping in a environmentally postive shop/space which is a load of shit-

    I love the first 2 shots too by the way

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  2. Hurrah - it worked....sorry, i just really wanted to comment before and it was giving me immense greif...

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  3. Gaawwww...considering I use one at uni almost all day.....shit i hate computers some time. Glad you got it sorted Filka!

    Yeah-the whole 'fresh food people' slogan is especially hard to take-they make money off of selling food because its not fresh! Its hard for me to think now, how people don't even wonder how supermarkets magically have so much unblemished food that is often not even in season and still think that is all natural and comes from 'local producers' like that crazy greek couple with the pulley system in the back yard growing cabbages or whatever the fuck they are (i do love that add tho....Stavros!!!Stavros!!!) but i know that was me only about a year ago. I really hope things start to change for the better. I dont know why everyone just doesn't grow veggies in their backyard-its so easy! Just buy a compost bin, put some seeds in the black stuff that comes out and water it every now and then!

    Glad your enjoying my ranting anyways dude =) And im really psyched you like the photos.Means allot.

    Peace.

    J

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  4. Yes that ad is pretty funny - my best friend growing up was greek and i've had a glimpse into how real that scenario really is. Another mate did a short film/doco about dumpster diving about 6 years ago, it was really insightful.
    I Grow my own veges (have been for just over 2 years)- but i rent so it also depends on if your landlord is for or against it - luckily mine was - i went nuts - planted 14 native trees + orange and macadamia nut trees, + 3 vege beds - now i have to move as my landlord has sold the house - oh the woes of us small but humble people -
    On another note, i have been taking night shots of trees around the area - night photography is my fav -
    Keep ranting...is good.
    This might come across as insulting to some but basically we are all the same and have the same needs, so i figure share the love... Your pics are rad
    If your into 'art' have a look-see at my super scribbly stylings
    Laters

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