Food, Inc. is a documentary that will take you deeper into how the food you eat is produced. DO NOT MISS IT. Robert Kenner did a spectacular job bringing a brilliant and terrifying vision of the food industry to the screen. DO NOT MISS IT. For the first few minutes we are told that food production has changed more in the last 50 years than in the last 1,000.
“The law of the land is faster, fatter, bigger and cheaper.” Chickens are housed without sunlight, many toppling over from their excess body weight and dumped as sandbags used to prevent flood erosion.
We are exposed to glimpses of the world’s largest slaughterhouse located in Tar Heel, North Carolina, a depressed community in dire need of employment. Grass is the natural food for a cow to eat, not corn. But motivated solely by the greed of the producer, the cows are fed corn, corn and more corn to fatten them up. Up to 1,000 cows can make a hamburger. Think about this as you contemplate taking the kids to McDonald’s. There was a time when under its golden arches the number of hamburgers sold was displayed. No more. How many families do you know that eat fast food at least once a week? Twice? Diary? It is cheap, does not take time and convenient. And every time through the drive-through it contributes to the perpetuation of this horrendous situation that exists in our culture. Say no more to McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants. Commit to making the change TODAY… NOW.
Food, Inc. introduces the viewer to the mother and grandmother of a 2-year-old boy who went from perfectly healthy to dying in a matter of 12 days of e-coli food poisoning.
One major issue that stands out in the film is the fact that we’ve strayed so far from the source of our food. In the middle of winter, we can see fruit in our markets in Chile, Hawaii or Mexico. Food hardly grown locally. We in Idaho are lucky to have Idaho’s Bounty in our community: a web-based marketplace that delivers local foods direct from farm to customer, in support of neighborhood farmers. We can choose from colorful eggs from free range hens, whole milk covered in bottled cream fresh from the dairy, organic cherry tomatoes, greens and vegetables fresh from geothermal greenhouses all winter long, elk, bison, fish, breads, sauces, cakes, desserts craft. cheeses and much more. Take responsibility for founding a cooperative in your state.
The film left me with a heightened awareness, disgust, and empathy for the way animals are treated for human consumption. There is no respect for life. No respect for life. No kindness. There is no joy in the process. How do you have self-dignity doing this kind of work? Hire people to do this kind of work? None of the Big Four vendors would be interviewed for this film. What does that tell you?
Food, Inc.’s bottom line is that consumers demand food that is better for them and the environment. Even Walmart is offering more organic products realizing it’s better for business. The film concludes with the message that “the fate of the food industry and the food we eat will always lie with the consumer.” DON’T MISS FOOD, INC. Then make a scandal. Talk to your elected officials. Shop local. Make a difference.
