Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Food Inc














I thought that the film Food Inc. was very disturbing. Many things that were said in the film really stuck out too me, one of the things that was said was about the supermarkets no longer having seasons, they sale tomatoes all year around, the tomatoes are now picked when they are green and then sprayed with a gas, so its not a real tomato. I thought that this film was horrible, I understand that in order for us to eat food, and fast food that we have to have someone make it, but I feel that it would be so much better if the farmers made it, instead of the factories. I think that there would be less e- coli in the food if the farmers produced it. I thought it was horrible how the chickens are treated in a chicken house. I am glad that Carole Moreson allowed the camera men to go into the chicken house, even though she lost her contract. I don't think that was right for them to do, she was just trying to show us the "real truth" about the chickens. I didn't like how the Latino men came in and took all of the chickens at night, it didn't matter if they were sick or healthy they were all slaughter. They say "Were not producing chickens, were producing food." I never knew that different products were made out of corn, some of the ones that really shocked me was Ketchup, peanut butter, fast food, dippers, twinkies, and batteries. I thought it was so sad how that mother lost her child, but I am glad that she started the "Kevin Law" all she wanted was an apology and the company to do something about the e-coli problem. Overall this film made me sick to my stomach, I don't like the way that the animals were killed, especially the baby chicks that was horrible. The problems I see with this is our economy is too lazy to produce fresh food, they want to make the people work on assembly lines, instead of having the farmers produce nice healthy food.

http://www.ethicurean.com/2009/06/12/food-in/
http://www.dsmarketingsolutions.com/uploads/Facts_from_Food__Inc.pdf

Facts from Food, Inc.
 In the 1970s, the top five beef
packers controlled about 25% of the
market. Today, the top four control
more than 80% of the market.
 In the 1970s, there were thousands
of slaughterhouses producing the
majority of beef sold. Today, we
have only 13.
 In 1998, the USDA implemented
microbial testing for salmonella and
E. coli 0157h7 so that if a plant
repeatedly failed these tests, the
USDA could shut down the plant.
After being taken to court by the
meat and poultry associations, the
USDA no longer has that power.
 In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006, the
FDA conducted only 9,164.
 During the Bush administration, the head of the FDA was the former
executive VP of the National Food Processors Association.
 During the Bush administration, the chief of staff at the USDA was the
former chief lobbyist for the beef industry in Washington.
 Prior to renaming itself an agribusiness company, Monsanto was a chemical
company that produced, among other things, DDT and Agent Orange.
 In 1996 when it introduced Round-Up Ready Soybeans, Monsanto controlled
only 2% of the U.S. soybean market. Now, over 90% of soybeans in the
U.S. contain Monsanto’s patented gene.
 Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas was an attorney at Monsanto from
1976 to 1979. After his appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Thomas
wrote the majority opinion in a case that helped Monsanto enforce its seed
patents.
 The average chicken farmer invests over $500,000 and makes only $18,000
a year.
 32,000 hogs a day are killed in Smithfield Hog Processing Plant in Tar Heel,
N.C, which is the largest slaughterhouse in the world.
 The average American eats over 200 lbs. of meat a year
 30% of the land in the U.S. is used for planting corn.
 The modern supermarket now has, on average, 47,000 products, the
majority of which is being produced by only a handful of food companies.
 70% of processed foods have some genetically modified ingredient.
 SB63 Consumer Right to Know measure requiring all food derived from
cloned animals to be labeled as such passed the California state legislature
before being vetoed in 2007 by Governor Schwarzenegger, who said that he
couldn’t sign a bill that pre-empted federal law.
 Corn products include: ketchup, cheese, Twinkies, batteries, peanut-butter,
Cheez-Its, salad dressings, Coke, jelly, Sweet & Low, syrup, juice, Kool-Aid,
charcoal, diapers, Motrin, meat and fast food.
 Corn, which is the main ingredient in animal feed, is also used as a food
additive. Those products commonly include: Cellulose, Xylitol,
Maltodextrin, Ethylene, Gluten, Fibersol-2, Citrus Cloud Emulsion, Inosital,
Fructose, Calcium Stearate, Saccharin, Sucrose, Sorbital, High Fructose Corn
Syrup, Citric Acid, Di-glycerides, Semolina, Sorbic Acid, Alpha Tocopherol,
Ethyl Lactate, Polydextrose, Xantham Gum, White Vinegar, Ethel Acetate,
Fumaric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Baking Powder, Zein, Vanilla Extract, Margarine,
and Starch.
 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes; Among
minorities, the rate will be 1 in 2.
 E. coli and Salmonella outbreaks have become more frequent in America,
whether it be from spinach or jalapenos. In 2007, there were 73,000 people
sickened from the E. coli virus.
 Organics is the fastest growing food segment, increasing 20% annually.

3 comments:

  1. I think the movie was a bit out of control but someone has to show how our food is really made. I mean I dont think everything is can be made on a farm but the ingredients that are needed to make certain foods should be produced on the farm and used to make our food. But good thoughts!

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  2. I agree with you that the movie definitely showed the ugly truth of the food industry, but I also agree with Sam. Yes there really does need to be reform and change and it needs to be enacted, but I feel that the factory farming is not going to go away for a long time. Our country is too big for only local farmers and farmers that don't do "factory farming" to do it all on their own. There needs to be compromise and reform from all aspects. Not one farmer can do it alone.

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  3. I think it is crazy the picture of the chicken, over 40 years difference the chicken has grown so much because of the steroids and hormones. Its disgusting to think about what the animals really are.

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