Food Inc. Part 1

I thought that Food, Inc was a great film in that it provided viewers with tons of testimonials of people that are greatly affected by the food industry. I liked that the movie more showed how our government was doing wrong in basically forcing people into buying and selling certain foods. There were a few sections that stood out to me in particular, the first being how the two farmers were to not speak of their methods of raising their chickens. It always seems odd when a company doesn't want the general public to know certain information. Another part that stood out to me was how the woman who lost her child from bad meat was unable to speak her own thoughts about what had happened. These companies are basically controlling people with fear of a lawsuit. The seed cleaner had to settle with the GM food company for providing a service to farmers as his business. It's sad to see how easy it is for these big companies to own people's lives as if they are slaves. It appeals to the audience's emotions when they hear the stories of people that are simply trying to make a living but are being forced to submit to the demands of multi-million dollar companies. Another part that struck interest to me was the part where they would show a politician and their government role, then show how they were associated somehow with the food industry. This helped viewers realize that this isn't just a food problem, it's a government problem where our country is being run by greed, the same greed that has led to the inhuman treatment of people all around us. The best part of the film, however, is that it doesn't simply state a problem and explain why something is bad. At the end it provided the a segment where the audience could read ways to help fight the monopolizing food companies.

The first reading of the book was a nice supplement to the movie because it not only helped give a little background of the movie, but it also provided things that may have been missed. It talked more about other problems that have risen from foods that are unhealthy. In the interview he mentions how "the obesity epidemic is now costing us $100 billion a year. The medical costs imposed by the fast food industry are much larger than its annual profits--expect the industry isn't paying those medical bill." They are basically accountable for weight problems like diabetes, which people get from "cheap" foods that end up creating huge medical bills. It's almost like an investment for ones health to spend the extra dollar and time on foods that are healthy rather than eating a quick dollar menu burger. I also liked the part where he talks about how Mcdonald's and other meat packing companies were denying any information about their place of business but that "workers at fast foods restaurants and meat packing plants were eager to talk..." This just continued to hit the spot for me in that it only seems like people are sick of the treatment that these companies give their employees because there is something going on that isn't something we, as consumers, want to hear.