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She Says: You Are What you Eat – Food, Inc. Reflections
Sunday night Mark and I saw Food, Inc.
![IMG_7130_thumb[10]](http://www.hangrypants.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/img-7130-thumb10.jpg "IMG_7130_thumb[10]")
The theater was old school, which meant my view was this.
Until Mark switched seats with me and it became his view.
The theater was in NYC, which meant there was this guy behind me who saved two rows (movie was sold out) for his imaginary friends that never showed up.
I love NY and NYers, but only in NY do people think that’s appropriate behavior. In NJ the movie goers have other rude tendencies, like talk constantly throughout movie; but they don’t save entire rows to a sold out movie for people who never show up!!!!!
Where was I?
Food, Inc. is a film produced by Robert Kenner and features Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food). The documentary was made for a specific purpose and designed to tug at emotions. We do not know where our food comes from and that is because there has been a well planned effort to keep us in the dark. Companies like Tyson and Perdue declined to be interviewed for the film. I haven’t read Fast Food Nation or Omnivore’s Dilemma, so I am not sure how much of the film is derived from those books, but I’ve read that much of it is.
This is how I feel about what was presented to me in the movie.
Learning about factory farming was disturbing on many levels. When living in ignorance you can pretend that animals still frolic in the sun on a small picturesque farm, but that simply is not true despite what images on packages might depict. Most meat is produced by a handful of powerful companies that control the meat industry. This represents a drastic change from previous farming practices. Today the demand for cheap, uniform meat dictates the way meat is produced for mass consumption. Now chickens live in cramped, windowless spaces and are so large because they are bred to have larger breasts, that their bones cannot support their large bodies. The film is not shy about pointing the finger directly at the fast food industry, specifically McDonald’s, for prompting this change and bringing the factory model to food.
Farming is not about raising animals anymore. It is about engineering food. It was upsetting to see animals mistreated, but it was not surprising. It was, however, both shad and surprising see workers mistreated, independent farmers sued into an oblivion for trying to “save their own seeds,” and to learn that giant companies are intertwined with the government agencies that are supposed to be protecting people. It was all disgusting, but for different reasons. Let me explain.
The movie features an organic, sustainable farmer named Joel Salatin from Polyface Farms who smartly explains his theory that the way people treat their animals is probably the way they will treat other people as well. The way that the United States as a whole treats the animals raised for food is gross. The fact that some people in the agencies set up to protect us are closely connected to some of the largest, most offensive industrial food companies is offensive. I felt dirty, used and a little silly for being so naive about the politicizing of my food.
I am sure you’ve noticed that a lot of junk food is cheaper than fruits and vegetables, but why? The film explains that the government subsidizes some farms, specifically, those that grow corn, thus making it cheaper to buy boxes of candy cereal than vegetables for a salad. Cows, grass eaters by design, now eat corn, which has led to a host of problems including E. coli. Instead of taking a step back and feeding cows grass again, industry comes up with more technology (ammonia cleansing of meat) to deal with the problem. The movie shows a family of four with a desire and need to eat healthy because dad has Type 2 Diabetes. They do not have a lot of money and it’s simply cheaper to live off a dollar menu and candy bars than it is to buy broccoli, a head of lettuce or pears at their supermarket. The young daughter pleads for pears, but they are $.99 per pound. They could get two burgers as a dinner or three pears.
Then I learned about Monsanto and it made my skin crawl. You think slimy business people only exit in tall buildings and do not affect you, but that is simply untrue. In 1996 Monsanto introduced Round-Up Ready soybeans that were genetically modified to be able to survive when Round-Up was sprayed over crops. The Supreme Court, in a decision written by Clarence Thomas, a former Monsanto attorney, upheld Monsanto’s patent of these soybeans. Now 90% of the soybeans in the United States are these GMO Round-Up Ready Monsanto seeds. Monsanto aggressively sues other small farmers for “cleaning their own seeds.” I felt like this soybean issue alone could be made into its own movie.
But of course, all hope is not lost. Gary Hirshberg, founder of Stonyfield Farms speaks to growth of organic farming and the debate about whether organic should go mainstream. He explains why he allowed Stonyfield Farm yogurt to be sold at Wal-Mart. His argument is that every organic yogurt purchased sends a message that people want organic, clean and safe food. It is better to fight the fight in a strategic way than to be clouded by emotion. Every time I buy food, I am casting a vote.
The film cites the tobacco industry as an example of change. It makes me hopeful, but there is a big difference between food and tobacco – everyone has to eat and not everyone has to smoke. I like the idea that every time you purchase food you cast a vote, but not everyone is aware of the issues., Most people either do not care or think the government is protecting them. And even those with some awareness cannot always afford to do what they would like to do. Organic Farmer Salatin pointed out that people do not buy the cheapest car, why buy the cheapest food? There is a reason why organic eggs are more expensive. There is a reason. I think it’s a matter of prioritizing and doing what you can do. That’s all I can do.
At the end of the movie there are specific suggestions for what we can do and the Food, Inc. website lists 10 Simple Things You Can Do To Change Our Food System.
After watching the film I had many thoughts floating in my head. Here are just a few.
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If I ever eat meat again it will be organic and from a real farm. By the way, the movie is not anti-meat eater.
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I do not believe one thing the government tells me about food and this includes recommended servings of fruit/vegetables and grams of protein. I really learned this in In Defense of Food, but now my thoughts are stronger. Everyone is motivated by something and I will not let the taint of agribusiness on the government tell me what to eat.
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I will make more of an effort to learn about where my food is from and how it got to me. This means considering both the food and the industry that brought me the food.
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I will consider the seasons. The line in the movie that about supermarkets have no seasons really got to me. Just because I like tomatoes doesn’t mean I should have them in December. Where is that tomato from? Or, what was done to that tomato to get it to my cold climate?
If you’re interested, Monsanto responded to the film on its website and SafeFood Inc., an alliance of associations that represents the livestock, meat and poultry industries set up a Food, Inc. Myths & Fact Page.
I could talk about this movie for pages and pages, but I’ll stop now. If you have any questions or want to talk about the movie feel free to leave a comment or send me an email (HangryPants@gmail.com).
I can’t wait to see this movie… your list really struck me especiall 2 and 4. WOW!
We saw this as well and I could not agree with you MORE! It made my skin crawl. I was already aware of some things– but others, oh my. The seed cleaning ordeal? I agree- I wish they went into more details on that. The story about the mother who’s son died from E-coli broke my heart. I am so glad you shared this review and are spreading the word about this movie. Awesome, awesome. I actually wouldn’t mind seeing it again because it had so much good info in it. Thanks for this!!
What a great review! I am now even more excited to see the movie. My husband even agreed to see it with me, and I am so hopeful that it will affect his view of organic foods. I am desperately trying to convince him that some things are worth the money. We’ll see how it goes
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I finally saw the movie and just read your review. My skin is crawling, though I will admit that I had this feeling of “I knew that was going on…” It’s one of those movies where you know those things are taking place but from day to day, you completely forget.
I plan on posting my review tomorrow. In short, I’ll say this: 1) It made me realize how much I took for granted growing up on a farm 2) It makes me feel like our efforts with the Cleaner Life Challenge were worth it and 3) Up until this movie, I said to myself “Well, when this challenge is over, I am going to eat this or that…” and this movie reminded me of why we were doing it, and why I should personally continue.
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