FOOD!

The documentary Food Inc. is a great start to the exposure and fight against the food industry and the many skewed components involved in the food industry such as the oligopoly of the food industry, the work conditions, animal treatment, pesticide use, and the list goes on. This film has definitely changed my perspective on what I consume; I pay attention a lot more to where the food is coming from, for instance was it produced local or not, if it is organic or inorganic, and what companies have produced it. I also have completely stopped eating any type of fast food; it is quite sickening to me. The whole time through the movie I just felt sick discovering what I have been eating without any preconceived ideas of the conditions it was being manufactured. I think that is why it is such a powerful documentary because it actually shows you what the conditions are like; it gives you an up close and personal view of the production by going right to the source. It takes you through chicken coops and farms, through slaughterhouses, and even gives you a look at how the workers treat their animals by using hidden cameras on worker’s bodies. All the people that I have talk to and that I have shown this to, except for the narcissistic couple have found the same reaction to this film. They have also made a change, even in the most minimal measures, to their diets to avoid supporting these practices; that is all that it takes awareness and action to make a change, even the slightest change.

                In the film there were many allies and potential allies (I guess potential allies wouldn’t be allies at all) throughout the film. Some farmers wanted to speak out against and present the conditions of practices they were required under contract to carry out, but the companies the farmers worked for threatened to shut down their farms and terminate their contracts. They have been in the line for so long that they can’t afford to lose their means of income, which is reasonable. But, this is the constant pressure most of these famers must work under due to the fact that the government does not want the public knowing about the grotesque circumstances of food production. Disregarding the threats of the government, one chicken farmer let Food Inc. interview her and invited them inside the coop to see her chickens. This farmer was incredibly upset with the abnormal growth rate of her chickens due to the antibiotics the companies require in the chicken food. Although her contract was terminated and she was fined big time, her willingness to challenge these authorities has made a difference in many many people’s lives by giving them point of view and truthfulness of the problem right from the source of the problem.