MM: That makes me think of a quote by Einstein‚ I think it was him who said "technology has surpassed humanity." I think you can associate that on many levels with the way we live. For instance‚ I think a lot of people don't think about where their food comes from anymore. When you sit down and eat a piece of meat and some vegetables - where did that food come from? Well‚ it came from the grocery store. I hear the funniest things sometimes‚ like recently I overhead someone saying they refused to eat deer that was hunted and killed by their husband "I can't eat that‚ it's Bambi." But they will sit there and eat a steak or veal‚ and not even realize where that piece of food came from and the process it went through before they went to the grocery store and bought it.
BB: You have to go get the new copy of Ad Busters‚ it's all about the food industry‚ and about us becoming further detached from the source of our food. The whole thing is dedicated to the rampage that it's left in its wake caused by huge industries making so much money off of supplying all these people who don't really care about where the source of their food comes from‚ and the havoc it reeks on animals and on land‚ and it leaves a lot of disaster in its wake. A simple decision like "I'm going to give up this luxury‚ like buying my Chicken McNuggets‚" or something - you know‚ giving up these little things. But nobody is made aware of this‚ not nobody‚ but a majority of people are not made aware of what's going on. They're not made aware of this type of thing as much as‚ say‚ the sniper attacks in Maryland or something.
MM: Yeah the havoc - and land is being destroyed and animals are being mass-produced and that's maybe a blurb in the news‚ if that. It seems like people don't want to care and it's not a big deal. It's life and nobody really thinks of it in terms of sustaining human life‚ or what we might be doing to the planet. It's more like in the now - right now. You know‚ I want food‚ and I want it fast.
BB: Yeah‚ you should definitely check out that magazine - as far as this topic goes it will provide a lot of great information to you in a creative way. I urge you to check it out.
MM: Well‚ is that the philosophy on how you live? Did you come to the realization of how you consume and decide to make changes in your life? The way I look at consumption is if everyone across the board gave up something like I did‚ then we would be a lot better off in terms of the food situation.
BB: Yeah‚ absolutely. You can never underestimate the potential of a person. I think it's been all individuals through my life who say "I don't buy that stuff because the people that produced it do this‚" or maybe I'll talk with someone who grows their own vegetables‚ or whatever it may be. It's usually one person that's helped me along. I try to live my life that way where I imagine that all my decisions are being recorded and taking note of it. I guess I'm trying to live as an example to the rest of the world‚ but of course there's a lot of stuff I need to work on.
MM: Yeah‚ we're not perfect. I think that's one of the hang ups that go into sharing your philosophy on how you think you should live‚ you know‚ you're not perfect and someone can call you on it. But hey - I'm thinking about it at least. For a few years now I've been a vegetarian‚ and I was a kid that grew up eating meat with every meal. That was normal for me‚ but as grew up I started to think about it quite a bit and was influenced by individuals. Eventually‚ after years of thinking about it‚ I realized what an un-natural process it is‚ and decided to stop eating it. My thought process was if I give it up‚ and other people maybe only ate meat once a day‚ or a few times a week‚ it wouldn't be such an un-natural process...
BB: I think that should be somebody's choice whether you want to be a vegetarian or eat meat. But like how you said what an unnatural process it is to eat meat‚ it's so removed.
MM: Yeah‚ in this country it's come down to simple economics. The demand is really high‚ so there are factory farms (laughs). Does anyone see what's going on here? We're just so far removed. It seems like a lot people aren't consciously aware of what they're doing‚ and it just seems so normal to them.
BB: I guess we have a lot of decisions to make right now‚ that's the real challenge. Like how are you going to bring that kind of thinking to the Midwest‚ or an area where people are used to this way of life? I absolutely believe that if you educate teenagers who are thirteen or fourteen‚ something is going to happen.
MM: Yes‚ proposing these ideas…
BB: Yeah‚ options. You grow up having these opinions that vegetarians are just weird people and communists are evil...
MM: (laughing) Yeah‚ they're evil.
BB: I think the process... I mean it's natural to eat meat‚ we're animal as well. Could you kill an animal? Could you kill a pig? You know?
MM: Yeah‚ well the way I look at it is I would if I had to at this point (laughs). But I don't need to‚ we have more than enough food... I don't know. How about we talk about music? (laughs)
BB: I have such a respect and admiration for people who can incorporate this kind of stuff into their songs. I think a lot comes out in a lot of hip-hop‚ like Michael Franti & Spearhead do that really well. I have a particularly hard time trying to communicate ideas like this - actually using this in forms and lyrics. It's usually much more of an introspective process‚ or it's focused on more material healing. It's hard to get specific about world affairs‚ or our cultural state. I try to work on it‚ like the song "Tinderbox" on Angels. I think it's track five - my first attempt to address some things.
MM: That's funny‚ because that's the one that really stood out the first time I listened to the album‚ in terms of lyrics.
BB: I probably spent the longest time writing those lyrics. It went through so many phases where it felt very pretentious. I just can't pull it off‚ and even since I've changed some of lyrics. In the end I just let it evolve a bit.