Food Inc. Reflection

Food Inc. caused me to review my feelings regarding the food industry. I did not realize the full extent of the food industry's political power prior to watching Food Inc. Many of the current FDA officials, and one Supreme Court justice, are former employees of some of the largest companies in the food industry. The government officials who oversee the quality of food products owe their political success to an industry that they must regulate. These political ties have allowed the largest companies in the food industry to decrease the nutritional value of their products and increase their economic growth.

Food Inc. changed my view of animal treatment in the food industry. The footage of groups of cattle being electrocuted and then shoved on to an assembly line was hard to watch. The way in which these animals were killed was nothing short of disturbing. These mass executions were committed without any empathetic response. 35,000 pigs are given an automated death sentence each day in the slaughterhouse featured in Food Inc.

In 1960, the average farmer could produce enough food to feed 7 people. The average farmer can now produce enough food to feed 126 people. The appetite of the U.S. public is continually increasing because the cost of processed foods is decreasing.

Discussion Question: What is the most immediate change that the food industry must experience in order to redirect the health of the public towards a positive future?

I believe that the U.S. public must make the first step towards a healthier future by demanding organic foods that have greater nutritional value than that of processed foods.