Food (Inc.) for Thought
When I moved to New York two years ago I made it a point to avoid eating at fast food chain restaurants or any restaurant that had more than 3 locations within Manhattan. In 2008, I made it my New Year’s Resolution to give up drinking soda.
The reason behind each of these proclamations was that 1) I felt as though there is such an abundance of mom & pop food options there was no need to succumb to the convenience of the McDonald’s Dollar Menu or the temptations of a burnt Starbucks coffee every 10 feet and 2) the thought of avoiding the carbonated sugar drink not only made me feel better, but (I thought) helped my skin, teeth and kept me from filling me up before getting a chance to finish my otherwise deliciously prepared meal.
On Saturday, I attended a screening of the new documentary Food, Inc. and Director and Producer Robert Kenner (click here to see the first 3 minutes) was in attendance to make a brief introduction about the power the industrialized food industry has over our biggest necessity—Food. Not unlike Michael Moore’s documentaries, Kenner’s exposes the dirty, yes dirty, ways of the big four food conglomerates and paints them as a fraternal twin to the bigger, badder Tobacco brother.
At the forefront of his documentary is the idea that shopping locally, buying organically and “Voting” with what we choose to put on that conveyor belt in the store is the surest way to get the Government to put its foot down and demand healthier, more sanitary and stricter regulations on the way our food gets to our dinner tables. He graphically depicts the cruelty and yes, frightening reality behind what the biggest users of meat, poultry, potatoes, corn, tomatoes and lettuce are really doing to the food they are producing.
Kenner seeks out the advice of Michael Pollan, author of the Omnivores Dilemma, and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation. Each offers, like their books, investigative perspectives on the corruption behind industrialized food and the power four major producers are wielding over the entire industry. Perhaps most baffling is the revelation that the Government officials responsible for regulating the industry have at some point in their careers worked for one of the big four, opening the jar to suspicion that perhaps they are in fact still working on the four’s behalf and are turning their cheek in the other direction.
Food, Inc. is an investigation into what is actually being done to the food we eat. It is chickens being over grown for juicy, more succulent breasts. It is the alteration of a cow’s natural grass diet. It is the training and gradual evolution of corn-fed Salmon for bigger filets. It is the regulation and monopolization of corn and soybeans. It is the gradual disappearance of the independent farmer who cares about his livestock, nourishes his land and provides fresh, unfertilized foods at a premium. It is humanity’s incessant need to find a techonological, chemical and artifical solution to all of life’s problems so that it can be done bigger, faster and cheaper. It is the inexplicable reality that the fatty foods contributing to the increase in Type 2 Diabetes are the more economical and yes, practical, dinner options versus the more expensive organic, natural foods and vegetables.
Over the last few years there has been much talk about sustainability, and I am beginning to find myself wanting to be a bigger part of this movement. Albeit, my progression is slow, but when compared to most I am making some strides. In an ideal world, shopping at Whole Foods wouldn’t eat up my entire Pay Check. And, riding my bike to work wouldn’t feel like a game of chance. Accessing locally grown foods would be as easy as walking to the bodega on the corner, everything would be recycable and everything that was good for us would be easy, inexpensive and accessible.
Unfortunately, we’re still years away from that idealized world, but at a minimum films like Robert Kenner’s Food, Inc. is a step in the right direction. It really should be on your Summer must watch list, but save yourself the stomach ache and avoid the concession line. You’ll thank me later.
