Food Industry Putting Profits Before Health

How much do we know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets and serve to our families? Though our food appears the same-a tomato still looks like a tomato-it has been radically transformed.

In Food, Inc., producer-director Robert Kenner and investigative authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivores Dilemma) lift the veil on the U.S. food industry – an industry that has often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihoods of American farmers, the safety of workers and our own environment.

While animal-lovers undoubtedly will have a hard time sitting through some scenes of this tell-all documentary, the message is one every person should watch in order to understand exactly where their food comes from, how it is grown and processed, as well as the risks associated with eating it.

Food, Inc. filmmakers take you behind the scenes (see the excerpts from the film below; and trailer at right) to witness practices they say are deliberately hidden from the American consumer. They also reveal how a handful of corporations control the nations food supply.

“Though the companies try to maintain the myth that our food still comes from farms with red barns and white picket fences, our food is actually raised on massive “factory farms” and processed in mega industrial plants,” say the filmmakers.

“The animals grow fatter faster and are designed to fit the machines that slaughter them. Tomatoes are bred to be shipped without bruising and to stay edible for months. The system is highly productive, and Americans are spending less on food than ever before. But at what cost?”

The film shows how cattle are given feed their bodies are not biologically designed to digest, resulting in new strains of the E. coli bacteria, which sicken roughly 73,000 Americans annually. And because of the high proliferation of processed foods derived from corn, Americans are facing epidemic levels of diabetes among adults and alarming increases in obesity, especially among children.

And, surprisingly, all of it is happening right under the noses of the governments regulatory agencies, the USDA and the FDA. The film exposes a “revolving door” of executives from giant food corporations in and out of Washington D.C. that has resulted in a lack of oversight and illuminates how this dysfunctional political system often operates at the expense of the American consumer.

“The animals grow fatter faster and are designed to fit the machines that slaughter them. Tomatoes are bred to be shipped without bruising and to stay edible for months. The system is highly productive, and Americans are spending less on food than ever before. But at what cost?”

Food Inc. takes you to the nations heartland, speaking to farmers who have been silenced – afraid to talk about whats happening to the nations food supply for fear of retaliation and lawsuits from giant corporations.

The documentary describes how today’s laws are such that corporations are allowed to patent seeds for crops. As a result, Monsanto, the former chemical company that manufactured Agent Orange and DDT – in a span of 10 years – has landed its patented gene in 90% of the nations soybean seeds. Farmers are now forbidden to save and reuse these seeds and must instead buy new seed from Monsanto each season. Armed with a team of employees dedicated to enforcing their seed patents, Monsanto spends millions every year to investigate, intimidate and sue farmers — many of whom are financially unable to fight the corporation.

Food, Inc. also introduces us to courageous people who refuse to helplessly stand by and do nothing. Some, such as Stonyfield Farms Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms Joel Salatin, are finding ways to work inside and outside the system to improve the quality of our food. Others are men and women who have chosen to speak out, such as chicken farmer Carole Morison, seed cleaner Moe Parr and food safety advocate Barbara Kowalcyk. Their heartbreaking and heroic stories demonstrate the level of humanity and commitment it takes to fight the corporations that control the food industry.

While the filmmakers attempted to interview representatives from Monsanto, Tyson, Perdue and Smithfield, they all declined.

Despite the bleakness of the current situation, Food Inc’s message is a positive one: every single person has the power to change the status quo, by voting every time they visit the supermarket.

Wal-Mart, for example, is one conglomerate that is listening to customers by introducing organic products produced by companies that care. While their strong interest is undoubtedly in profits, their change is an example of how customers vote with their dollars every time an item they choose is scanned. The key is educating ourselves so we know exactly what it is we’re buying. Watching Food Inc. is a good place to start, as it reveals how complicated and compromised the once simple process of growing crops and raising livestock to feed ourselves and our families has become.

For further information head to www.foodincmovie.com

To take part in a Q&A with director Robert Kenner get involved in the live Twitter chat tomorrow at 10am PT (USA). To submit a question, all you have to do is include the #foodinc tag.