The documentary, Food, Inc. ripped the blankets off the big, messy, genetically modified bed of food that is served to America. The film did a great job in exposing the ugly truth that most of us are not fully aware of. I am much more aware of advertisements for produce now. The film pointed out that commercials and labels show us a beautiful, sunny farm with happy, fat cows grazing in the fields. This was hardly the picture Food, Inc exposes. What I did not know was that the American food supply is dominated by three to four companies such as Tyson or Swift.
The biggest one in the entire world is Tyson; they own everything about chicken, starting from the egg to slaughter. I am glad that I watched this film because it informed me about quite a bit. The birds are raised in half the time they normally would; it takes them seven weeks to grow. This rapid growth leads to abnormalities in the bones and organs because they cannot keep up with the weight of the meaty chicken bodies. The camera crew got a peek inside a chicken farm, where the dozens upon dozens of chickens are crammed in with hardly any ventilation. I’m sure the frenzy of that coop was nothing compared to the chicken houses owned by Tyson. Those chickens never saw the sunlight. This confused me greatly. Is this a policy because the workers did not want the public to view the living conditions of the chickens? Furthermore if people did take a little peak, it may hurt their revenue.
Revenue is what it all boils down to, or so it seems. The few corporations that dominate our food industry put small farmers out of work. The farmers that work for these companies are struggling to keep up; they have no say in the business and some are in thousands of dollars in debt. The head honchos don’t care much for the nation’s health because they spend their time caring for the health of their wallets. Corn is very cost-effective crop and is in the ingredients of almost anything. I had no idea it is the main component in batteries and diapers! That is wild! Corn is so far removed and basically an illusion of what it used to be. The cheap corn is like a super hero; farmers feed it to cows, fish and chicken, fattening them up which drives down the price of the meat.
All of this efficiency is leading to problems for the American population and hurting the livestock. If we fed our cows grass, which they should be eating, that will shed 80% of the E. Coli found in the meat. If the E. Coli was eliminated from the picture, then we would not have to cleanse the beef with ammonia. Brilliant idea! According to the film, 100% of our meat will be cleansed with ammonia. I don’t know about anyone else, but that scares the crap out of me. Instead of fixing this problem from the root cause, the corporations are slapping on another cheap, quick, toxic way to correct it.
Everything is skewed and pushes us to eat unhealthy, chain food. This is because the chips, fries, and burgers are heavily subsidized; they all come from the cash crops. The mass produced food is hurting our population, the animals and workers of the factories. 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will get diabetes. The workers or illegal immigrants are exploited in meat packing industry; with wages cut, they are made to produce faster and work in dangerous conditions.
This whole delicate system that we have going on seems like it is bound to tumble out of control. Although this film left me with tips on how break the system and stay healthy, I still feel that something has to give. My trust has also been affected very much; even when I read the ingredients and buy organic, I wonder if I am being lied to. It is hard for college students to eat organic or to buy produce from farmer’s markets. It is also hard for American families to eat the healthier, more expensive option while they can get quantity for a lot less money.
No comments:
Post a Comment