The Politics of Food

Thanksgiving is in less than a week, and ISO Pittsburgh member Russell Pryor has put together a fantastic presentation-and-discussion event entitled "The Politics of Food" that we'll be hosting on Tuesday, November 23rd at 7:30 p.m.

Below is a preview of Russell's presentation.

The modern food industry is inherently inhumane and unsustainable. The herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and, increasingly, genetically modified crops that make the modern industrial agricultural system run hurt most everyone and everything involved. The production process destroys groundwater and soil and disrupts local ecosystems while simultaneously poisoning farm workers, rural communities, and, eventually, consumers. Much of the grain produced in this agro-industrial system ends up in antibiotic-laced feeds for livestock and poultry. "Confined animal feeding operations" (or CAFOs, as these factories are called) produce millions more tons of waste than rural ecosystems can take on, and serve as ideal breeding grounds for pathogens. Debt-strapped contract farmers operate under the iron hell of fewer and fewer corporations, and the men and women who catch and process their animals work in some of the lowest paying, most dangerous jobs in the country. The regulatory system in this country is, in many ways, a cruel joke. More than anything, it provides us with a false sense of security.

On the retail and restaurant end of the system, millions of workers, many of them young and virtually all of them underpaid and highly exploited, cook and serve our food, stock the shelves, or ring us up every day. Obesity and related diseases have reached epidemic proportions, along with other eating disorders. Nicely arranged supermarket aisles, colorful, eye-catching advertisements, and pleasant, seemingly sterile packaging obscure all of this from view. Chicken McNuggets, after all don't have a backstory; they're just Chicken McNuggets... Not so much.

Join the Pittsburgh branch of the International Socialist Organization for a presentation and discussion about how we all got into such a sad state and, most importantly, how we work to remake our food system.

Ecology and Socialism

We're excited to announce that longtime environmental activist Chris Williams will be taking part in an event on Saturday, November 6th entitled ECOLOGY AND SOCIALISM. Williams is professor of physics and chemistry at Pace University and chair of the science department at Packer Collegiate Institute. In addition he is a frequent contributor to the International Socialist Review (ISR) magazine. Ecology and Socialism is his first book, and ISO Pittsburgh is happily hosting him to speak on the issues that it raises.

Williams writes, in the first part of his 2008 piece "Hothouse Earth: Capitalism, climate change, and the fate of humanity":

Solving the problem of global warming requires understanding the relationship between capitalism and the environment, examining the solutions on offer within the framework of the system, and determining whether those solutions are up to the task of preventing a runaway greenhouse effect. The world system of capitalism has been, and will continue to be, largely impotent in the face of climate change, not because there are evil, uneducated, backward individuals in power--though this is arguably true in many cases--but because capitalism's own social relations prevent effective solutions from being realized. The blind, unplanned drive to accumulate that is the hallmark of capitalist production--the profit motive--has created the problem of climate change, not individuals' profligate natures or overpopulation. Therefore, the system of economic production and distribution needs to be transformed or we will be living on a much less hospitable planet.

The intersection of environmental issues and economics is especially relevant to us as Pittsburghers--our region's natural resources and the multifaceted industrial history of the area have exposed generation after generation to the realities of the nature of capitalism. From the early days of glass production, to the steel industry that swept over a huge swath of northern Appalachia and then sharply contracted, to the nascent growth of high-tech and "green industry" that could be reshaping the Rust Belt, Pittsburgh has reflected America's economic and industrial pulse.

Currently, the issue of hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") has come to the fore, as numerous energy companies vie for leasing rights to drill into the ground and pump rock deposits with chemicals that release natural gas. The chemicals--kept as trade secrets--are flammable and toxic. In a piece for Socialist Worker entitled "Don't frack with Pittsburgh", ISO Pittsburgh members Russell and Nick outlined the issues surrounding fracking from a region-specific perspective: "Energy corporations are again on the prowl in rural Pennsylvania."

ECOLOGY AND SOCIALISM will be held on Saturday, November 6th at 4:00 p.m. at University of Pittsburgh's Frick Fine Arts Building, room 202.

"Don't frack with Pittsburgh," say members Nicholas and Russell

Just posted in the Socialist Worker is ISO Pittsburgh members Russell Pryor and Nicholas Rushin's piece "Don't frack with Pittsburgh," a round-up of the controversial issue of hydraulic fracturing, a process in which natural gas is extracted by energy corporations pumping a mixture of sand, water, and a chemical combination into the earth to loosen rock where the deposits exist. The gigantic Marcellus Shale formation lies underneath the ground of New York state, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, and it has been pushed into the spotlight of a debate over jobs, energy, and the environment.

But the way in which this gas is extracted, "fracking," is problematic--the chemical cocktail that companies use to break up the shale is kept as a secret, and many people out west, where the fracking process has been used extensively in the recent past, have reported illnesses. Some of the chemicals used in the process are even known carcinogens. And in July, two Pennsylvanians lost their lives when an explosion erupted at a gas well.

As residents of Pittsburgh and the surrounding area, our branch finds itself in the middle of a large debate--and a large grassroots movement that is building momentum. We support standing up to companies that keep the truth of their toxins secret and exploit our environment, and on November 3rd, a large coalition has planned just that. Energy executives will be meeting at the David Lawrence Convention Center, and a large action has been organized to protest it. Check marcellusprotest.org for more information.

Stay up to date with our events and conversations at our Facebook page. And check out the article at SocialistWorker.org!