Food Inc.

2010-12-22T19:46:00.001-08:00

In the movie Food Inc., it discusses the food industry taking unethical actions to keep up with the demand for food. Industrial farms have limited time and space to raise as many animals in the shortest period of time possible. Animals which usually take months to reach full growth are now being fully raised within weeks. This is due to chemistry being injected into the animals opposed to the natural way of being raised. Independent farms are being taken over by corporate farms destroying the middle class. These farmers are not only taking their business over, but also the health of those who consume their food. In the past 20 years there has been more E. coli and Salmonella outbreaks than ever. There have also been more people suffering from diabetes and obesity from all this unhealthy food. Animals are kept in areas in which they cannot move, and fed with the cheapest feed available. The feed consists of corn full of pesticides and chopped up remains of other animals. In result from this unnatural habitat, cows are developing different diseases causing the use of antibiotics and other medicines. After the rendered cow has met the market’s expectations, the unhygienic slaughterhouse is the next destination. Often found in slaughterhouses are workers who are unskilled trying to beat the clock. A majority of the workers have no choice but to work in these plants, because they have limited skill which results in limited job opportunities. All tasks are done in a production line format, involving carelessness and speed. Mistakes made while processing a cow link to contamination. Now the meat is contaminated, it is ready for shipment! There are not only untrained meat gutters and cutters, but also inspectors.

Animals, farmers, food processing, the food, and consumers are overlooked or looked over by government officials that have worked previously for a large food company. The government does not seem to have restrictions on one of the most dangerous jobs in America. This allows food to be processed at a high rate of speed regardless to the quality of meat and the potential accidents it may cause. If meat is manufactured really fast, the cheapest way possible, results in a large amount of profit. Also producing meat for pennies on the dollar allows them to undercut all its competitors eventually eliminating them. Once the competitors are outsourced, the big industries will be the only option, even know it is the worst. Industries are almost completely in control of the production of our food as of today.

Handling meat is a very important task that needs to have regulations, because if something is contaminated it will effect another human, putting their life at risk. Industries have not only outsourced the smaller farmers but have also taken over the laws and regulations allowing them to basically do whatever it takes to continue their trend. If a smaller farmer who sells to the industry (because it’s their only choice) doesn’t meet their expectations, they will be out of work. If that farmer then simply states their opinion about the particular company to others, they will be sued by one of their many lawyers. If farmers had their own choice they rather be on their own, creating a safer and healthier food industry.

Healthy food is limited and very expensive for the average American. For some family’s it is cheaper to buy something that is unhealthy but filling at the drive though. Unfortunately a majority of the people who eat unhealthy are the ones that are not only poor but do not have any type of health insurance. So they eat food that is more likely to get them sick and when the time comes, they have no medical assistance.

The part that shocked me the most is when Barbara Kowalcyk was talking about her perfectly healthy 2 ½ year old son, Kevin. After coming home from a family vacation, Kevin ate a hamburger that was contaminated with E.coli. He ended up dying within 12 days of eating the hamburger. After Kowalcyk went through this tragic experience she started to do some investigation. After finding the meat company who distributed the contaminated meat, she found out they knew it was contaminated and didn’t mention anything about it until after her son’s death. After discovering she didn’t have a chance with suing the meat company she settled for an apology and a change. The company wasn’t even nice enough to do that, instead they threatened to sue her if she continued to drive people away from their company.