Food Inc.

before i launch into this documentary, i'd like mention two independent black and white films made in the mid 80s. both of them commented on our food today.

Stranger Than Paradise
Eva: What does that meat come from? 
Willie: I guess it comes from a cow. 
Eva: From a cow? It doesn't even look like meat. 
Willie: Eva, stop bugging me, will you? You know, this is the way we eat in America. I got my meat, I got my potatoes, I got my vegetables, I got my dessert, and I don't even have to wash the dishes. 


Mala Noche
i can't remember what exactly Walt Curtis said in the film. but it goes something like we have to kill the animal so we know what we are eating. but now we just buy it from the supermarket, we don't even know where it comes from. god know what it's inside our food. it's just not right.

So do you know your food?
Just watch this documentary and learn something about your food.
I'm not suggesting this is a perfect documentary about food. But I do think this is a very precious chance to glimpse inside the big corporations, that we normally only see their logos and big shinning advertisements. I do think the message sent from the film is quite good. Recommended. These are some shocking facts from the movie Food, Inc:

1. No comment: Robert Kenner, the film's producer, contacted 50 of the largest food producers in America, including Tyson, Monsanto, and Smithfield Farms. None agreed to be interviewed, and none would allow cameras anywhere near their production facilities. Food, Inc. took six years to make, and a large percent of Kenner's production costs went toward legal protection from the aforementioned companies.

2. Grass is good: We've all heard why grass-fed beef is better. But do you really know why it's better? Cows are not designed to digest corn, and when they do, their stomachs become breeding grounds for E.coli bacteria. Five days of feeding grass to Bessie would kill nearly all of this bacteria, but apparently that's too much of a hassle. Instead, meat plants are "washing" ground beef in ammonia and chlorine before packaging it to sell to grocery stores. Delicious.

3. McShit: The average hamburger contains meat from nearly 100 cattle. It gets better. Mass production cows are often raised knee-deep in their own manure. They're butchered so fast that there often isn't enough time to clean them. The end result? Cow pie in your cheeseburger.

4. Something smells rotten: The USDA is allowed to regulate what constitutes organic food and when your milk is past due, but it does not have the authority to shut down a meat plant if they are selling tainted meat. If the USDA can't stop this, who does? No one, that's who. Creepy.

5. Top heavy Hell: The majority of mass-produced chickens are raised in the dark. Their breasts are so large that they're unable to walk. But that's okay, because they're not allowed to. The antibiotics they are fed to keep them breathing in such conditions end up right there in every bite of your sandwich.

1 comment:

cryz said...

interesting facts....haha.. lets become vegetarian hee.. faintz...