Review: Food, Inc

This past Friday night I made the impulse decision to watch Food, Inc. If you have never heard of the documentary, it came out in 2008 and IMDB describes it as "An unflattering look inside America's corporate controlled food industry." I found the documentary interesting and sometimes disturbing.

A few things I learned from watching it:

• Most of our food is grown in "factory farms" meaning that factories control what can and can't be done during the growth phase. In other words, the farmers are pretty much powerless when it comes to raising their crops.
• Where there were once thousands of slaughterhouses in America, today there are only 13. All of the meat they produce is concerned with quantity rather than quality.
• A company called Monsanto has a patent on the soybean, preventing farmers who didn't use their seeds right away from ever being able to use it.
• The USDA has very little power when it comes to food testing, as they lost a court case to the meat and poultry associations.
• Food inspection rates have dropped. In 1972 the FDA conducted 50,000 food inspections. In 2006, they conducted a little over 9,000.
• The government doesn't want to label our food. Representatives fought for years before GMOs were recognized on food labels, and the source of meat was printed on the package.
• Pretty much everything we eat is corn based. Or was fed corn. Some of these animals, such as cows, are not deigned to eat corn, but it is the cheapest food.

Food, Inc made me think more about what I put in my mouth. While I have always eaten moderately healthy, I never really thought about where my food came from, or the farmers that help grow it. There really is an advantage to not only your body but the economy when you buy local or organic. 

The farmers are told to grow what the consumers want, and with companies such as Walmart starting to carry organic products, there may be hope for America's food system in the end.