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Food, Inc.

So old news to some of you, but last night I finally got to see Food, Inc.  I thought the movie was so powerful, and not just because of its portrayal of animal treatment, but because of it’s demonstration of the impact of the food industry on human rights.  For instance:

—> Corn artificially subsidized and sold below cost of production.

—> NAFTA puts Mexican corn farmers out of work due to the influx of subsidized corn from the U.S.

—> Jobless Mexican farmers then recruited and bussed to U.S. to work in the U.S. food industry.

—> Illegal Mexican immigrants with no workers rights exploited in dangerous food production operations.

—> Food corporations cooperate with INS to have same exploited immigrant workers deported gradually- 15 at a time so as not to deplete their workforce.

Or, if you prefer to think of things in terms of the American farmer, how about this:

Joe Schmo (don’t remember his name) is a seed cleaner, which means he cleans seeds of debris so they can be reused and planted the following year.  Monsanto, the huge corporation that patented soybean seeds that are immune to the effects of their soybean Round Up, decides to make him the black sheep of farmers and accuses him of cleaning their soybean seeds for other farmers (Monstanto requires the seeds to be purchased new every year).  He loses his farmer friends of 50 years, because they don’t want to be associated with him.  He has to settle out of court, because he can’t afford the lawyer bills.  His bank account records for the past 10 years were subpoenaed, allowing Monsanto to go after his clients who may have cleaned Monsanto seeds unbeknown to Joe Schmo. 

Ok, so I am rambling and it doesn’t have any depth or meaning here, but you can tell that the whole thing got me thinking at least.  :)

Here are Food, Inc.’s “10  Simple Things You Can Do to Change Our Food System.”

1. Stop drinking sodas and other sweetened beverages.

You can lose 25 lbs in a year by replacing one 20 oz soda a day with a no calorie beverage (preferably water).

2. Eat at home instead of eating out.

Children consume almost twice (1.8 times) as many calories when eating food prepared outside the home.

3. Support the passage of laws requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards.

Half of the leading chain restaurants provide no nutritional information to their customers.

4. Tell schools to stop selling sodas, junk food, and sports drinks.

Over the last two decades, rates of obesity have tripled in children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 years.

5. Meatless Mondays—Go without meat one day a week.

An estimated 70% of all antibiotics used in the United States are given to farm animals.

6. Buy organic or sustainable food with little or no pesticides.

According to the EPA, over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used each year in the U.S.

7. Protect family farms; visit your local farmer’s market.

Farmer’s markets allow farmers to keep 80 to 90 cents of each dollar spent by the consumer.

8. Make a point to know where your food comes from—READ LABELS.

The average meal travels 1500 miles from the farm to your dinner plate.

9. Tell Congress that food safety is important to you.

Each year, contaminated food causes millions of illnesses and thousands of deaths in the U.S.

10. Demand job protections for farm workers and food processors, ensuring fair wages and other protections.

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    10. Demand job protections for farm workers and food processors, ensuring fair wages and other protections. I really...

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    read Courtney’s great recap

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