To Deborah Garcia,
Writer, producer and director of the film,
"The Future of Food"

It's quite clear that the revolutionary film you've created is absolutely needed by the public. It ought to be considered essential information in every household. No one can claim to be truly informed about what is going on in this world, without in-depth exposure to the shocking information, The Future of Food provides. So outrageous is this material that the viewer is compelled to seething outrage, that it has not been previously revealed by trusted governmental agencies. They obviously do not deserve our trust.

Although this film is largely about the severe and growing consequences of genetically engineered foods, it is also an accurate reflection of the state of our society as a whole. Modern science, now governed almost exclusively by money, (like everything else) is working very hard to kill us all off. This it is doing for the sake of making multi-national corporate fortunes even larger than they already are. Not only do the increasingly destructive trends of genetic engineering threaten to destroy the integrity of whole ecosystems, they promise only the ultimate collapse of agriculture as we know it. In essence, these trends are mass suicidal. If the public knew the extent of the damage already done to their own bodies as we speak, there would surely be a public uprising the likes of which have not been seen since the Revolutionary War. Or would there be? Is the modern public really any more ethical or moral than Monsanto or other corporate entities?

I ask these questions to point something out of fundamental importance, which your film did not address. The genetic engineering disaster with which we are faced, is not primarily a technological crisis. Nor is this calamity a social, economic or political disorder at its' root. The very heart of this crisis, the root of all these poisonous roots, if you will, has to do with a combination of mass mental disorder and a deep spiritual deficit.

The Future of Food dances all around the issues of government corruption, corporate greed at the cost of all life, the gross misuse and abuse of scientific methods, the bribery and rampant conflict of interest of corporate officers installed in high positions of public trust, as well as the imminent downfall of unsustainable economic and agricultural methods. Yet not once in the film do you come right out and call a spade a spade. Never are the words "corruption", "greed", "lying", "scandal", "fraud", "abuse of power", "lifestyle", "blackmail", "programming" or "propaganda" used in your scripting. Never is the term "consumerism" addressed, defined or criticized. I don't believe this was an accidental oversight. The content of your movie is too thoroughly presented and in such a scientifically analytical way, to have simply "overlooked" these critical underpinnings of the REAL crisis, with which the caring person is faced.

What is the real crisis here? The real calamity which lies unaddressed, has to do with wrong values and MENTAL ILLNESS. The questions you perhaps feared to ask in your film are, "WHY are these government agencies so corrupted? WHY are they so willing to allow corporate interests to BUY OUT their positions of public trust, for the sake of short-term profits?" Furthermore, "WHY do these huge, conglomerated, multi-national corporations knowingly engage in planetary suicide, which can only benefit them for a few years?" I say you don't ask these questions because you know the answer very well. You think that to REALLY address this situation honestly would probably infuriate the average viewer, who stands for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING but personal greed and egotism. And therein lies the problem, summarized concisely.

The fundamental problem, once again, is not political, social, governmental or even environmental. The fundamental source of ALL the ills your film mentions is mass mental illness. This illness has a specific name. Its' name is CONSUMERISM. Anyone who willingly participates in consumerism is as much a part of the imminent downfall of ecosystems and economies alike, as the average billionaire or corporate giant. What would corporations be without greedy little gears, (individuals) making up a much larger machine of destruction and misery? How pervasive would these corporations be, who care about nothing but short term monetary profit, if the average "consumer" did not recklessly consume their unneeded products? In other words, how powerful would these corporate giants be, if the public did not share their values, as demonstrated by their daily lifestyle? They wouldn't exist, so let's get real about this.

One may ask how consumerism is related to a movie about genetic engineering and social corruption. It is directly related to these problems because it literally makes them possible. Consumerism is the direct CAUSE of the very desire to tamper with the genetics of life, and all other incredibly stupid industrial acts done in the name of, "progress". The consumer believes they are each the center of the universe, as Gods' favorite darling who can do no wrong. The consumer thinks that they have the right to exploit, use up, throw away, and destroy ALL at a whim, as a measure of their arrogance and lack of wisdom, "because they're worth it". The consumer corporate executive, by the same token, believes they have the right to exploit, use up, throw away and destroy other people, just like any other commodity. Consumerism is about endless egotism, which can only be matched by endless greed. In this paradigm, everything in life is viewed in terms of ownership.

Consumerism, as you know, is much more than just the efficient production and sale of products. The real essence of consumerism is that it is a VALUE SYSTEM. Advertisers in the early part of the 19th century discovered that they could do much more through the mass media, than sell products. They discovered that they could also sell images. These images in turn caused the public to buy the products associated with such images. After World War II much was learned about the use of propaganda, and the media then shifted well beyond even the selling of images. They were now engaged in the selling of ENTIRE VALUE SYSTEMS. In the modern day we have the refined product of over 50 years of corporate and governmental research, which permeates 99% of television "programming", (which is a surprisingly honest term for the real intent behind modern TV). This product is none other than an elaborate, systemic attempt, largely successful, at destroying and controlling the mind of the viewer, making them pliable to ANY repeated suggestion no matter how illogical.

What the modern person has been sold in other words, goes well beyond products and egotistical images. They've been sold a value system called, "consumerism" which basically states that the only thing that REALLY MATTERS in life is money, and the ego-images it can supposedly buy. Love, clarity, freedom, sovereignty, democracy, logic, truth, peace and health, are all considered irrelevant compared to money and ego-images. So completely brainwashed are the peoples of the world by these sophisticated propaganda techniques, embedded in almost ALL "programs", that they will literally DO ANYTHING for the, "sacred cash". They will destroy their minds and bodies for a paycheck. They will teach their children to become corporate slaves and gain false titles to, "be somebody" in the eyes of a corrupted and soul-less society. The average person will engage in ANY cancer causing, war promoting, government corrupting, child destroying, sweatshop making, environment ruining activity under the sun when paid enough for their efforts, and to hell with the future. The consumer, "ethic" is "live for today", which really translates to mean, "today is all we may have left, because we all know full well that we're destroying any real future for ourselves and our children".

So completely brainwashed is the average person, that they will literally waste their entire lives in a futile quest for MORE and MORE without end, and never even question WHY accumulation without end is the supposed goal of life. So fixated on their money and thing fetishes, the general public mindlessly and obediently devotes their entire lives to a "career", (glorified slavery). After 30 years of self destruction, they STILL teach their children to do the same, even though such years were NOT spent happily or toward any constructive purpose. Like any religious devotee with blind faith, consumers then obediently SPEND all these life energies burned out for the sake of cash, on the very same corporate products they've helped create. This represents a total self sacrifice to the most bogus set of lies, (things = happiness) ever created by mankind, and all, "as seen on TV". If we're really going to seriously and competently address the problems The Future of Food mentions, then these are the fundamental points that are necessary to understand.

What you further fail to mention, Deborah, is that consumerism is really just a politically correct name for institutionalized greed. Almost no one asks why a person should want a new car every three years, they simply BUY. Practicality and efficiency are considered irrelevant compared to the amplification of primitive egotism. By the same token, no one asks why corporations must constantly show greater earnings every quarter, or why "progress" is measured not in what benefits life, but in what destroys it. Almost no one asks why every believer in television hungers to be their own little emperor with a fancy house or apartment, to possess closets literally packed full of expensive clothes with the price tags still attached, fancy furniture, antiques, expensive dishes, or have 20+ pairs of shoes most of which are never worn. No one questions why they pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for, "arts and craft items" for every wall and shelf, the objective is the ACCUMLATE; to, "show how much of an important and successful person you are". Naturally, "Important and successful" is defined by the television, fashion magazines, radio and internet. Never mind that such accumulation actually shows shallowness and mental illness. Never mind that the bank account already has 5-7 digits of funds, the objective is to ACQUIRE twice that much, and then twice that much again, FOREVER, without specific purpose, and regardless of the personal and world consequences.

In consumerism, we are expected to repeat the mantra, "there's NEVER enough", (time money, resources, etc) and so, our wage-slavery can NEVER come to an end. So lets' be honest and recognize that the insanity of corporate actions is also the same insanity on the personal level. Corporations, like governments, are merely the concentrated form of insane evil found at the individual level of society. If we are to find blame with what is destroying our world, then honesty demands we look no further than the individual consumer.

Your film points out that these corporate measures in science, government and agriculture are wrong, destructive and even insane. Yes, unlimited corporate greed at the cost of all else is clearly insane. But which one out of a thousand of your films' viewers do not belong to that very same value system of endless accumulation? Who among you would not literally JUMP at a chance to BE those very same corporate executives, making those very same world-and-child-destroying policy decisions, if that meant earning a lot of CASH and public NOTORIETY? What one person out of ten thousand does not directly participate in consumerism in every aspect of their lives, out of an ethic of greed, mindlessness and live-for-yourself-alone life philosophy?

I certainly commend you for this effort in The Future of Food, don't get me wrong. This is a brilliant accomplishment. But I'm disappointed to see such an attempt for social change, that lacks yet again the fundamental questions and answers that will actually make a serious difference. Sure, you can inspire people to grow their own organic veggies. But what about changing these values of greed and selfishness as the first priorities in life? Without changing those values, your film ultimately accomplishes nothing beyond simple education, because a greedy society will ALWAYS be a world and self destroying society until it changes its' attitudes or goes extinct.

I realize you may argue that such issues, valid as they may be, were beyond the scope of your film. My reply to this is that the issue of evil public values cannot be avoided if you realistically expect to really change anything for the better. Or you may argue that to have challenged the whole paradigm of consumerism would have meant you lose the support of most viewers. But just think for a moment what that means. You're asking corporations to take responsibility for their evil deeds and values, but you're catering to that same evil and lack of responsibility in the public domain by, "softening the blow" for the average consumer/viewer. In this you are failing your own social responsibility. You'd rather sacrifice the primary CAUSE of social change to address this one little piece of what is wrong with society. And yes, let's be honest and say that genetic engineering and government corruption are but one little piece of what is wrong with the world.

These are just symptoms of the fundamental cause of wrong values and mass mental illness. No matter where you look in society, it is the same story again and again…money and egotism first, while everything else goes straight to hell. I challenge you, (and the reader) to name even one area of society that is NOT ultimately corrupted and mass-suicidal. Ironically, (or perhaps predictably) the end of your movie has a notice which says that it cannot be copied without copyright infringement. So much for getting the word out to as many people as possible, huh? Why did you copyright this truth-based material? Your movie criticizes the patenting of living things for the sake of corporate control, and yet you apparently want to control the truth in the same way, for your personal benefit.

Until the insane and insecure accumulation of material objects comes to an end, where greed and self concern above living things no longer rule the day, there will be no hope for a viable future. We live in an era where deep pathological lying and mental illness are considered the norm. Truth-telling on the other hand is considered impolite, if not down-right treasonous. The thinking person recognizes this trend of madness to represent the imminent downfall of humanity. Such disdain and disregard for truth in the modern world, and all for the sake of personal convenience, implies that there can be no other conclusion. I invite you and others to consider this well.

The solution?

Reject totally the evils of consumerism. Recognize it as the false value system that it is, and return yourselves to a practical life. Reject the society which thrives upon that evil, (in the stripping of forests, dumping filth in the lands and seas, the corruption of truth and life, and the bondage of the poor) on a daily basis. Live out a better way on a personal level, (through naturalness, efficiency, simplicity and spirituality) or fail miserably as a Cause and as a species. We're going to have to go a lot further with social change than growing organic veggies! We cannot expect corporate or governmental change, if we are unwilling to live that change ourselves!

Love and Clarity,
Matthew Webb visionquest@eoni.com
The World Mind Society http://www.eoni.com/~visionquest