EduClaytion

Food, Inc. Wow.

I eat animals just about everyday.  I believe we have dominion over animals but cruelty isn’t included in that responsibility.  I think we should be good stewards of the earth but a lot of environmentalists are out and out liars.  I also feel revulsion when I see those reports about how animals are mistreated for bigtime agribusiness.  What’s an omnivore to do?

I’m challenged to consider how I feel about these things because I just finished watching Food, Inc., one of the best documentaries I’ve ever watched.  [Note: Link to view the film can be found at the end of this post].  I won’t be joining any causes anytime soon, and director Robert Kenner didn’t set out to create a propaganda piece for some organization.  The film attempts to answer one main question: Where does our food come from?

I skip most of these projects when I know I’m going to be bombarded with punishing images of sick cows and chicken massacres only to be told in the end that I’m a horrible person.  Food, Inc. is not about that.  As a matter of fact, one of the main scenes that hooked me was a brief interview early in the film with Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation). 

I expected the preaching to begin, but Schlosser (who I know very little about) was seated at a diner trying to decide what he wanted to eat.  He chose a hamburger with fries and took a healthy bite.  At once I knew I was going to hear from investigative journalists rather than preachy hypocrites.  The experts in this film are not kooks like the jokers that spend their lives getting people to hate them so they can feel good about caged animals or dying trees. 

This movie is about the veil between us and where our food comes from.  That veil is heavily guarded by massive corporations and the American government.  Surprise, surprise, Democrats and Republicans are guilty.  The animals that suffer because of a few companies, and I mean a select group dominating everything, are only part of the story.  People are hurt by this corrupt system as well. 

Children have died because of new strains of E-Coli and other diseases which exist only because of these brutal, enclosed farming methods, yet Kevin’s Law to increase safety controls is swept under the rug by Congress.  Farmers are losing everything for trying to speak up in the face of omnipotent companies that have surpassed any power you’ve ever thought Bill Gates had in his industry.  Not only does the government do nothing, they are complicit in many cases.

Executives bounce back and forth as food executives and politicians.  One year they write policies and decide cases that benefit food corporations, and the next year they return to lucrative positions with those same companies now benefitting from their legislative handiwork.  Some of the worst aspects harming American workers today are a result of these shady politicians who managed to be friendly with both the Clinton and Bush administrations.  Oh yeah, they’re working for the Obama administration too.  So much for all that government transparency eh?

If you enjoy great filmmaking, see Food, Inc.  If you are curious about the amazing, hidden world that produces all of the food we put into our bodies and give to our families, you have to see this film.  Our grocery stores are mythical, and I’m not just talking about poultry and meats.  Everything we consume is controlled, but things are changing because of good, solid films like this one.

There’s so much more to say, but I’ll pass on the link that was given to me, so you can view for yourself.  Here you go. 

Watch FOOD INC. online.

You don’t have to stop eating the kinds of food you like, just start checking labels and supporting local growers and free range farmers.  We’re entitled to know who is feeding us and controlling our health and the future well-being of our kids.  Don’t miss this chance to get informed.

October 28, 2009 - Posted by educlaytion | Business, Government, Politics | animal rights, conspiracy theory, corruption, fast food nation, food inc, kenner, kevins law, scandal, schlosser, skinny bitch