Food Inc, really should be required viewing for all. Stark, fascinating, in your face, and above all telling of an industry that has long followed the model of self-regulation in the wake of new biological food outbreaks, human rights activism, and animal rights activism. Really, I think the most sad part of this documentary is how contentious the whole process is for not only are the animals abused, but so are the workers. Usually bussed in from across the border to preform menial tasks that they have little right to protest. The goal of fast and cheap, first introduced by the McDonald brothers when they completely overhauled the fast food industry has permeated into all facets of society. And because of such, food is no longer grazed and agriculture is an industry that has long been industrialized to the point where basically 4 major corporations have complete control over what we eat and how it is produced from seed to store and/or your dinner table.
The documentary was broke down into several parts that investigate how each of the industries that make up food production (the beef industry, chicken production, pork, corn, etc) are completely controlled by the corporate thumb. And it showed to the extend these corporations go to mask the problems of production instead of finding appropriate solutions. For example, because corn is produced below the cost of production, corn is the essential product by which we genetically mutate to produced all sorts of chemicals and gums and products like Ketchup and yogurts. We also feed corn to cattle, instead of grass, which causes e-coli to build up in their systems. Because these animals are usually sitting in their own feces for days on end even to the point where they are "processed" we have a brand new strain of ecoli that has developed that has now permeated into other industries such as spinach production. As discussed in the documentary, to combat this problem, the simple solution would be to switch up the diet and include grass, but this would drive up the cost of production, so these corporations instead hire teams of scientiest to invent fillers that are resistent to ecoli and other bacteria.
Aside from this problem, another jarring fact is that often times, fast food and dollar menu items are priced at a point well below what it cost to buy fresh fruits and vegetables which forces many families to rely on fast food in order to feed their families thus resulting in problems like obesity and diabetes. The doc directly correlates health with income, making eating healthy a privalede of those that can afford it.
The film explores everything from appropriately labeling cloned food to genetially mutated seads and the soy bean industry. However, as I watched in shock for most of its running time with my mouth agape, one thing that surprised me was the call to action at the end. Watching something like this you feel sort of powerless as to be able to make any kind of significant change, but the film explores our buying power as a means of protest. At the end of the day, we chose were to spend our money and if we demand products that are more organic, the industry will respond. Such as case was presented in which an organic yogurt maker was courted by wallmart after consumer demand basically forced them to explore this option. As well, you can shop at places like farmers markets and buy fruits and vegetables only when they are in season. But the first step is education, and I am thankful for docs like Food Inc. for their goal is to inform the people about what is actually taking place behind the scenes. You may not want to know, but you will be better informed for it. All I know is that after watching this doc, I was sooooo thankful that my mom forced me and my dad to help plant a garden every year. I will inevitably be doing the same with my family.
No comments:
Post a Comment