When I first saw Food Inc in Blockbuster I put it on my “must watch” list but kept putting it off for fear I would have to change my diet afterwards. My fears were confirmed! There are so many things wrong with the structure of American Big Business running the American farmers that it is difficult to find a place to start so I will try my best not to turn this into a rant. Let’s begin with the fact that as American consumers we are tricked by commercials into believing that cows and pigs being “corn fed” makes them healthier, when in fact it is unnatural AND unhealthy. The movie taught me that the corn feeding that is boasted about in most commercials is actually a major cause of ecoli and other illnesses affecting animals that will eventually be turned into food. The scarier thing is that 80% of these illnesses can be fixed by simply letting the cows eat what they would naturally, with this knowledge “Big Business” still insists on feeding them corn! What!?! Sorry getting a little excited but how come the USDA, a government agency charged with the safety of these foods we Americans consume has done little to improve these conditions?
Even sadder still is that the average farmer that feeds America makes less in a year than I do. To add insult to injury they are stuck in a vicious cycle set up to keep them indebted to the businesses that keeps them under thumb. I would go so far as to say this is the new American slavery. Maybe they have some monetary compensation, but the system is set up to keep them working for little to no return with no hope of controlling the farms they once loved. This movie was disturbing on so many levels changing my diet was only a small part of how this movie has impacted me.
United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Challenges and Opportunities Facing American Agricultural Producers. 109th Cong., Washington: 2007. Print.
I love hearing about wanting to change your diet after seeing the flick. I think that a call to action for the majority of Americans when it comes to their diets and more importantly their lifestyle is in order. Your outrage at feeding cows corn is also warranted. This just makes me sick. The only reason we put corn in everything, includeing other food sources, is because we subsidize it. I think it is time for the corporate welfare to stop.
ReplyDeleteWatching and listening to that farmer who had a small family farm really made me happy. It's those people we need to seek out and support. That's why I love the farmers market. Also, to get good beef the kids who show their animals at the NW Wa Fair sell them for beef. That probably sounds so far away for a lot of us, but 4 people splitting the cost can have a lot of meat at a good price and you know the animal has been cared for correctly. I've committed to a diet change myself-I couldn't hide from the facts anymore. It's curious those southern farmers ended up slaves to those big business farmers...kinda ironic.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea you brought up of the "new slavery."
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what occurred to me [that I forgot to mention in my own blog] when we were viewing the women who does chicken farming.
Not only is her work depressing, unsanitary, and brutal but she makes next to nothing for it.
Being a mother and raising children, you at least deserve to have a satisfying job.