How A Film Changed My Views About Food/ A Review of Food, Inc.

This past weekend I finally decided to watch Food, Inc., and never has a movie made me rethink the choices I make about food, as this film has.  I had heard about the movie from a few people and they all raved about it.  A must see, I was told.  So, I got it and those raving couldn't have been more correct; what an eye opening film.   I am someone who has really never paid attention to the politics of food, even though I have read a few books about it.  But there is a reason it is said that images can speak a thousand words.  And boy, do they.  I don't think there is a book about food politics that does not mention big conglomerates like Monsanto.  In this movie, the producer introduce us to the few big companies that control most of the food system in the US, as well as how much power and connections they have, to include inside the USDA.  I have a few friends that are farmers, and I was appalled to think that they may be going through some of the issues some of the farmers face in the film, from lawsuits to just plain scare tactics by the big corporations.  Just unbelievable.

But of all the things in this movie that completely horrified me was the treatment of live animals, the same animals that we find in our grocery stores.  Again, you read about these things, but I think until you actually see images, it really does not hit you.  Y'all know I am all about eating meat; I love it.  However, I want to know that the meat I consume is safe...well, for consumption.
One of this things I learned is that the factory-style mass slaughtering and preparation of meat for selling is really REALLY unregulated across the board, so much that I am surprised E. Coli and Salmonella outbreaks are not more common than what we hear on the news.  My knee-jerk reaction was "I am not eating meat again!" but I know for me that is not realistic.  I do love being  carnivore, but after I watched this movie I realized that a lot of what is going on in our food system has to do with personal choices.  Although as an individual I may not be able to change this, I can influence: A) What I put in my body, and B) What I purchase.  This second one is really how we can make our voices heard.  Every time we buy something and that little scan bar is scanned, I am telling those big conglomerates "Thank you, can I have another one please?". 

I can be honest with y'all.  For a long time, I have been one of those people that says "you know what?  All this talk about ubber organic food, grass-fed cattle mumbo jumbo is the doing of some crunchy people who obviously do not have anything to do."  But again, images speak louder than words and this movie has a lot of plenty of shocking images that you do not get to see as consumer.  I now have this image of a guy inserting his hand into a cow's stomach and moving it around, and the interviewer asking him "does that hurt the cow?" to which the scientists answers "no, it doesn't".  Yeah, tell that to the cow.  Of course, it is not going to kick you in complaint; it is restrained and it can't even move the neck.  I bet if you let it out, it will kick ya! 

Look, I am not here to tell you how to eat, but to tell you how this film really affected the way I see food, thus making me realize that, in addition to starting on the new Paleo diet in a few weeks, there are other choices I can make that are safer for me.  I was so stunned by this film, that I made a pledge to become more acquainted with the small farmer's in my area; the same ones that go to our small farmer's market.  I was very surprise to see how many small farms are within an hour radius from my house.  Farmers and cattle ranchers who really care about humane practices and sustainability.  These are the same farmers that support the "from farm to table" movement.  So, I decided that I am going to give these small farmers my support.  These are baby steps...but I think they can make a difference.  But you also can help.  How?  Here are a few steps.