I had the opportunity to watch a documentary called "Food Inc". It has forever changed the way I see food and the food industry. I was shocked by the mistreatment of animals and workers. The food we consume everyday has been through so much more than we thought. The average American supermarket contains approximately 47,000 different products but only a few companies control the whole food industry.
Did you know?
McDonalds is the largest purchaser of ground beef, tomatoes, lettuce and even apples.
Chicken
Learning about the life of a chicken grown to be slaughtered in a factory was sickening. These birds are genetically modified to grow and become fatter at a faster rate than how they should naturally grow. They are born in little drawers with hundreds of other chicks.
Then they are literally dumped on a conveyor belt to be tagged and counted. They grow from a chick to a 5 and a half pound chicken in 7 weeks. Their bones and organs can't keep up with the rapid growth, so the chickens can hardly stand or even walk. Plus, if that isn't enough, people prefer white meat. So the birds are genetically engineered to have large breasts.
The whole meat company is controlled by 3-4 companies, so you might think you're buying a product by a certain company when the company is actually owned by a larger business.
Why?
The whole food industry is a complicated thing. It all comes down to money. Who has the most money?
The fast-food industry fought not to show the public the calorie information of their products. They fought not to show people the amount of trans fat in the food they were eating. The food industry fought to prevent whether or not to reveal if the product was GMO. (foods are just starting to be labeled GMO because of a new law) The food industry even wanted to prevent having to add "origin of food" labels (AKA where the food was grown). Why? It all comes down to money. These companies don't want their consumers knowing where their food is from and what it has inside of it. Because if consumers truly knew what was going on and what they were eating those companies would lose money.
Even our fruits and vegetables have been scientifically modified.
Another thing that I found surprising about the production of fruits and vegetables was the fact that certain fruits and veggies should be eaten by season. Certain produce is not naturally in season year round. For example, tomatoes are not in season all year round. So when they aren't in season in the US the food industry will pick green tomatoes half way around the world and ripen them with a certain unnatural gas. Did you know most of the fruits and vegetables being sold to you in the US have been genetically modified from when they were seeds? They have been scientifically altered to grow larger than how they normally should.
The things they do in this food industry are outrageous. I have hardly scratched the surface on this problem and I haven't even talked about everything going on in the industry that produces red meat and pork or how they treat workers. But you can imagine how bad it all is.
What can we do about it?
There are a bunch of little things we can do. First, start supporting small, local farms. Large corporations have taken the business from small farms. Those small farms have gone bankrupt or nearly bankrupt and have had no choice but to sell to large businesses. Support small farms!
Second, try growing a garden (even a little one). Next, buy fruits and vegetables that are in season. Also, eat healthier overall and do not support fast food companies. Don't fall for those stupid advertisements that try to show you how "delicious" the food is. It's not delicious and it's isn't healthy. The food will not leave you satisfied because it doesn't have the vitamins and minerals your body really does need. Another thing you can do that will help is to try asking your school to provide healthy lunches. Last, but not least, spread the word!!! Tell people what's going on and even try finding out this research for yourself. Watch Food Inc. It's a great documentary with lots of information about the food industry in the US. But, in the end, you need to make the most of what you have. In other words, eat as healthy as you can with what you've got. And remember, we, the consumers, control this market. The companies will produce what is selling. Ask for organic and non-GMO and that's what you'll get. Have you noticed the sudden rise in organic products in the supermarket? That's because people are starting to search for those products.
~Amanda
Photo Credit:
1. http://www.participantmedia.com/pm-films/food-inc/
2.http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews48/food_inc_blu-ray.htm
3.http://www.ethicurean.com/2009/06/12/food-in/
4.http://www.opensecrets.org/news/assets_c/2010/11/stack-of-money-3153.html
5.http://www.yalescientific.org/2012/05/what-am-i-eating-the-infiltration-of-genetically-modified-foods/
6.http://bearingdrift.com/2013/04/30/the-virginia-small-farm-and-food-freedom-resolution/
