This clip is a trailer for the film Food Inc. directed by Robert Kenner, based partially on An Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. The documentary provides an in-depth look into many aspects of the food industry. Its goal is, essentially, to find out what we eat. The filmmakers trace the food from our dinner plates back to the farms where the food was grown/raised. The filmmakers try to figure out why we eat the things that we do, and if that food is most beneficial to our health.
When it comes to major food production, secrecy is key. As stated in the video, the food industry has made it illegal for anything negative to be published about them. Michael Pollon, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, mentions that the food industry is also attempting to make it illegal for any pictures taken inside industrial food operations to be published. All of this secrecy raises suspicion about the what is going into the food that we as Americans are consuming.
In the video, it was said that Salmonella was found in peanut butter—Peter Pan’s Peanut Butter—and the E. Coli bacteria was found in spinach and apple juice. To hear that these packaged foods are contaminated with these strains of bacteria is horrifying. We make sure that we clean our meats and vegetables before we cook them, but what should we do with the packaged products? These bacteria strains are lethal. In the movie, a child who ate a hamburger contaminated with the E. Coli bacteria died 12 days after ingestion. This would just make us question everything we consume.
The food industry as a whole is run and can be summed up by one thing: money. Money is the driving force behind everything that goes on whether it is from the consumer’s point of view or the producer’s vantage point. The trailer shows a farmer saying “smells like money to me”, trying to portray what is the sole thing on the farmer’s mind. The trailer also shows a visual representation of two chickens growing side by side. A smaller chicken from 1950 would take 91 days to grow, while a much larger chicken today can be grown in 49 days. The point of this statistic is that farmer can use steroids or other enhancers to turn a bigger profit by getting more out of one chicken and producing them at a quicker pace. The video also says, “everything we’ve done in modern agriculture is to grow it faster, fatter, bigger, cheaper”, maximizing profit in other words. Money also plays a large role from a consumer’s stance. A woman is quoted as saying, “sometimes you look at a vegetable and say, well you can get two hamburgers for the same price”. When it comes down to it, many people are worried first and foremost about the cheapest way to eat, as opposed to worrying what is the healthiest way. Especially in bad economic times, the cheapest food is a path many Americans will choose. Once again, money is the number one thing considered by everybody when it comes to the food industry.
Discussion questions:
1. Should the food industry be treated differently than other industries with regard to the law attempting to ban photos taken of factory farm conditions from being published?
2. While it is hard to get the full picture in a 2-minute clip when the full film runs for an hour and a half, do you think that food in this country is a serious problem? If so, do you think that there is a way to stop it?
3. How did you feel about the comparison to the tobacco industry? Is this a fair comparison? Do you see any notable differences?
4. Where do we draw the line as to what is the best value for our money and what is a good choice health wise when it comes to what we consume?
5. How should we be expected to eat something that we are not allowed to see being produced?
In response to your question how are we expected to eat something that we cannot see being produced. I feel that we have good system in the U.S that regulates the production of our food. There are specific guidelines that the producers of food have to go by set by the FDA. We cannot see any of our food that is being produced unless we are in the production industry. We just have to hope that the the FDA is doing there job well and making sure our food is good to eat. If you do not trust what is being produced then you should grow your own food and raise animals to eat. But who really wants to o to that length?
ReplyDeletei think that they should not ban photos because then we wont ever see what we eat. although they may false advertise some foods generally we know were most of our food comes from and we wouldnt want to grow our own foods so we trust the food companys with what they give us.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it should be legal to post pictures to the public of what is really going on behind closed doors and that they should be treated differently than other industries. I have watched the movie before and I do believe that the food industry in the states has a serious problem and I would stop it or make it a little better just by changing the regulations on how producing food is done. From watching the movie previously and watching what I eat regularly I would draw the line at what is best for my health. In the long run what is a few extra dollars if it makes you feel healthy and good about yourself?
ReplyDeletei don't think that they should ban photos taken from their factory because we as the eater, the one who consumed their product have the right to know every single process that they did. If people refuse to buy their food product after view the photos, then it is the producers who has to take action to make their processing method to be accepted. Nevertheless, I don't think that the food in this country is a serious problem because United States has FDA that will guide the producers and consumers.Furthermore, food industry, when comparing with tobacco industry is just a fair comparison. Both are processed with many substances or bacteria and viruses that can result in illness or even worse is dead. We, however does not really care on what are in the food or how it been produced. The taste and appearance are good enough to manipulated us and make people want to eat those foods.
ReplyDeletePhotos taken from factories should not be banned. That is simply hiding information from the publics view. hiding information like that used to be illegal, however now, the government doesn't want people to see everything and keeps the public in the dark. I do not eat fast food and i have not eaten in for awhile because one, the unhealthiness, and two the fact that i do not actually know where the food came from. Overall, i think knowing what is in the food your eating, and how it was processed should be a requirement like nutrition labels.
ReplyDeleteIf it necessary to ban those pictures than should we be selling that type of product? I feel that if we are to ban the picture, there will be no initiative to change anything about the process. I think that the pictures should be shown in order to create a change in the poor farming processes that occur. Food in our country today is becoming a major problem, however it would be very difficult to change it drastically. Today it is very uncommon to find an piece of personal land to grow enough food to fee your family. That would eliminate the processing step of food. We are very far from understanding what the "right" thing to eat is. I think the money we pay for the right choice is left up to the wrong people. They are looking to just take in our money and sacrifice the actual content of what we are eating. We should expect a better quality of food if we are to actually see what is going on "behind the scene".
ReplyDeleteIn response to this discussion post, I definitely believe that everyone should be allowed to see what is really taking place behind the closed doors in food industries. By watching the movie “Food, Inc.” and this being my main topic of discussion for my paper, I am fully aware of the harmful strategies and occurrences that food industries everywhere are doing. Therefore, people should know exactly what they are digesting by eating these animals, and these photos show exactly what the viewers need to see. I do believe that the food in our country is a serious issue due to the numerous growth hormones and other substances being digested by our livestock and later digested by the people. These substances have an effect on not only the health of the animals, but humans as well. With this being said, I do believe that there are ways to prevent this fact of the matter. Food industries should simply remove the harmful substances and start the upbringing of the natural, drug free, and healthy animal.
ReplyDeleteI think we are expected to eat something that we are not able to see produced because people primarily don't care where the food is from, they just like the taste. For instance, im sure that a man or woman that likes burgers, does not care where the burger is from or how it was produced, as long as it taste good and it makes them not hungry.
ReplyDeleteI think taking pictures of what is going on behind the food industry should be legal. Food safety is a serious topic nowadays and people really what to make sure what they eat is safe. So food industry should be treated differently and more strictly because it is much closer to people’s health than any other kind of industry. The administration department of food in the USA should make sure that the public have access to see how their food is made. It is their job to protect people from eating things unhealthy or even lethal.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the questions above, I believe that the food industry should not be treated differently than any other industry, and that there shouldn't be a law protecting the publishing of photos taken inside industrial food operations. Consumers have the right to know exactly where their food comes from, including how it is processed. Banning the publishing of all negative aspects of the food industry provokes suspicion in the consumers and makes us wonder what really goes on and why we can't know about it. I also believe that a line should be drawn between what's a value for our money and what's a good choice for us healthwise. Although organic or locally grown products may be a little more expensive, they may be more beneficial to our health because they're free of chemicals and hormones, and often times we can find out exactly where the produce was grown. On the other hand, industrialized food may be cheaper, but it's also a risk to our health because a lot of the time we have no idea where that particular food came from or how it was processed.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that the food industry should be treated differently than any other industry. I am against the law protecting the publishing of photos taken inside the industrial food factories. I understand that the FDA has set guidelines for the worker to follow, but the fact that photos of the food processing cannot be published makes me suspicious. Are they really following those guidelines? I believe that everyone has the right to know what is going into the food they eat. It should not be a mystery. As to the question of where we draw the line for what we can get for our money and what is a healthy choice, I believe that spending a little extra money on locally grown or organic food will benefit almost everyone in the long run. Our health would be better and our agriculture would prosper. Chemicals, steroids and other not natural substances are being put in our foods in order to get a greater profit. In locally grown and organic foods, we do not have the risk of these chemicals harming us and therefore we will all be safer and healthier.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of large food companies thinking they can do whatever they please behind closed doors is just absurd. There must be some sort of ethics in the industry which would save us from being essentially poisoned while they take our money. The tabacco industry is forced to warn us about health risks on their products, so what about food? I remember stopping at a Subway restaurant once, and someone I was with said afterwards, "If I didn't watch them make that sandwich in front of me, I don't think I would trust that I could eat it." They were referring to the college kids behind the counter who obviously couldn't be professional about their jobs, but I think this applies to the general food industry as well.
ReplyDeleteThe food industry should not have the right to hide information from the public. I watched the film, and I learned so many things about how the meat is prepare, to how it is shipped that I never even heard about anyway else. This is the fault of our government because they have granted the food industry with privacy rights that no other industry has. If people knew the process, and where the food comes from I believe there would be a huge change in our culture, but until then I cannot see anything happening. The government needs to peel back the curtain, and expose the truths of the industry, just like Upton Sinclair did with "The Jungle". There were immediate changes after that book was released, and I think we need another spark to open the public's eyes.
ReplyDeleteThe food industry needs to be teated as the other industries. Banning pictures is not fair to the American people. We deserve to know what we eat and how it is treated and processed. If there was a possibility, maybe some of these food companies that have had food contaminations should not be able to keep mass producing or at least get rid of the high-end people that are not being responsible. Now how the food industry is compared to the tobacco industry both in my opinion are slow killers. Yet the tobacco industry do say their products can cause cancer unlike food product labels do not give warning like that but still I wish the tobacco industry was never created. Drawing the line in the value of foods and the healthiness is hard to say but if we try to not always buy fast food or try to buy organic foods. It is possible to afford organic foods if there were more people willing to buy it and after awhile prices will go down.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the food industry should be treated just as any other industry, especially because it directly affects human health and diet. Obviously something questionable is going on inside these factory farms or the farmers wouldn't mind if pictures were taken. The food in this country is starting to become a very serious problem when quantity and money is placed over quality, not only for producers but for consumers as well. Even when shopping people will pick their food choices based on price not health which is a major problem. There needs to some sort of balance between the two in order for American's to stay healthy. Also, as Americans we should not have to be afraid for our health about the foods we consume, whether it be fresh or packaged.
ReplyDeleteI think that the food industry should be one of the most, if not the most, visually presented industries in our countries. As living organisms we depend on food for survival. Every person in this country should be concerned about the quality of food they consume, and should have the right to know how their food is prepared. . I think it is absurd that our government even attempts to hide the food industry’s secrets and protect them from criticism. Having not personally done a significant amount of research or seen the entire film, I cannot fully speculate as to whether or not our country has a serious food problem. It concerns me that fresh produce is more expensive than most junk food, and that fast food is more affordable to most than a home cooked dinner. On a personal level, anyone can do a small part to help fix this problem. As stated in the video, if people start purchasing more produce at grocery stores, the demand for fresh produce may increase to a level that we can change the way food is produced in this country. Comparing the food industry to the tobacco industry isn’t such a fair comparison in my opinion. Cigarettes are not essential for survival. Any person can go their entire life without acknowledging the existence of tobacco. The same can be said of junk food. However, I feel as if there is an equal and plentiful amount of information regarding the dangers of smoking and the dangers of eating junk food. Although I don’t see my chicken being raised, killed, and processed, I trust the chicken breast I make every night for my meal. I trust it because I have my entire life.
ReplyDeleteOur food industry is absolutely a serious problem. After watching Food Inc., I think it would be hard for anyone to say otherwise. I think it’s really overwhelming to think of solving the problem, especially when boiled down to how personal changes will change our country. Firstly, change needs to happen in the government. If our country allows for genetic engineering and for processed foods to be considered equivalent to natural fruits, then we will continue to have problems. There are also many ways to make a difference by making personal changes and differences within a community. Farmers markets and gardens are a few ways that we commonly hear about. Since coming from Seattle to Columbus, I have realized that there are so many people who don’t care enough to contribute to a “food renaissance.” Before I came here, it was easy for me to believe that farmers markets and locally grown food could make a difference. Now that I'm living in a new part of the country, it has made me realize that there are many people and communities that would have to make major changes in order for our westernized food problems to be solved.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the food industry should be treated any different with regard to photos taken being published. This, however, would mean that they can stop photos from being taken. For example, a car company uses a special technique in building their engines and would not allow photos of this process to get out. Why should the food industry be treated any different? There are many choices available in the 21st century and if you do not like the fact that a company doesn't show how they create their product, you can choose not to purchase their product. That is how the free market works. I do not see anything wrong with the current food in the country. If a consumer chooses to buy processed foods, then they should be allowed to do that.
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