Food Inc. showed me exactly what I did not want confirmed but already thought about the modern food industry. The thing that struck me the most was how machine-like and untouchable the food system seems today. Scientists are so obsessed with how much science they can do and not about what they are actually doing to the animals and people.
The specific scenes that hit me square in the heart were when we saw what one of the more ‘humane’ Tyson® chicken coops look like, the E. Coli amount inside corn fed cows stomachs, the amount of children with type two diabetes now, and finally the promising future in organics.
I have been a member of PETA since I was in the 7th grade, give donations to the humane society, and just love animals with every ounce of my being (I really try not to be ridiculous about it though.) Seeing any animal, from the cuddliest kitten to the gnarliest looking spider, harmed in any way, pulls heavily upon my heartstrings. Nature is one thing, but chickens caged and packed with growth hormones so strong that they can’t walk, which are then beaten and killed, tears apart my soul. I wouldn’t even wish treatment like that upon the sick, money hungry monsters that created such a system. There is no humanity at all in big meat companies today.
One of the few memories I have of my mom is when our family friends took us to Jack-In-The-Box in the mid 90s. My mom told them she doesn’t allow us to eat there because their hamburgers killed kids. Many cows grown for meat in the US today are fed genetically modified corn diets which fuel hundreds of E. Coli cells to multiply and evolve within their stomachs, pass through the system, and contaminate our bellies. Apparently feeding a cow grass, what they naturally eat, for 5 consecutive days would cut out a huge percentage of the E. Coli breading in their stomachs. However, instead of reverting to the system mother nature provided us with and proved successful for thousands of years, scientists employed by these meat industries think they can out do her, and are seeking even more inorganic methods to solve a solved problem. Way to go guys.
Diabetes is a condition when the human body cannot filter the sugar they take in into their cells for energy. Type one diabetics got this genetically; type two diabetics got this by overworking their bodies system of breaking down sugars, with bad eating practices. It used to be that only older people got type two, which makes sense, a lifetime of work could ware out many systems. Today however, many children are developing type two, because the amount of straight sugar, fat and carbohydrates in the food we eat today is unparalleled by all previous generations. Food companies are breeding a diabetic generation.
Despite all the sadness and irritation Food Inc. brought viewers, they ended with promise: the growing organic industry. Organic foods are products that are not messed with. No pesticides, growth hormones, artificial color or anything, just good old mother nature providing us with the fruits of her labor, in exchange for some of ours, which is how it should be.
Questions I still have include:
How the eyf can Monsanto sue people for their own genetic pollution even if they aren’t USING their ‘pattented gene’?!?
Why on EARTH hasn’t someone sued the CRAP out of those giant slaughter houses for the health issues they cause their employees?!?
Can I punch who ever makes up Tyson’s chicken supplier coop regulations in the face?
Can I patent my eye color because I had it first? If so can I have Monsanto’s lawyers’ phone numbers?
Does treating the animals as badly as some companies do actually make them as much money? Counting all the animals that die and all the cover-up and manipulation it takes to make it possible?
What do you do with a ‘cream cap’ in organic milk bottles?
Socratic Seminar Questions:
How was it possible for the meat system to revert after all the positive changes since The Jungle?
What would be the best course of action to take to change the systems back and make sure they can’t get this bad again?
What are some things we as seniors, voters (some), college students (some), Americans can do to make sure we don’t get diabetes, support a negative system (farmers, consumers, most company employees cons do not out weigh pros.)
I am now a devoted local and organic shopper, as well as a devoted preacher of the organics to those who I care for. I don’t want my family, friends, future children, or myself to suffer from a system that we have the power to end. I love veggie burgers, but that is just a well established fact I wanted to through in, sorry.
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