The Food We Eat

Recently my husband and I (and Bear) watched the documentary, Food Inc. I do not recommend this movie for anyone who wants to eat food again....ever. The show makes you feel like the only thing safe to eat is maybe something you grew yourself in your backyard. God help you if you ever eat meat from the grocery store or a restaurant. There is a particularly upsetting scene in the movie where some pigs are slaughtered in what I can only describe as "the trash compactor from Star Wars." It was sickening. I don't have a problem with eating meat, but that scene made me seriously consider becoming a vegetarian. I am hesitant to even write this blog at all because the show implied that if you say anything bad about the big food companies they will sue you....and you will not win....unless you are Oprah. This is because a small group of companies monopolize the entire American food system.

The whole documentary started with the creator of the documentary wanting to know where his food came from and finding it hard to get answers because the big food companies don't want you to know. I thought I would be interested in knowing where my food came from but, believe me when I say, YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW. If you still think you want to know, at least be prepared to make drastic changes to your diet. I am in the unfortunate situation of wanting to eat more organic and whole foods, but being unable to afford to do so on my limited budget. The show even mentions that the poorer a person is, the worse they eat because the bad food is the cheap food. In most cases you can get a hamburger for $1 when something like broccoli is more expensive. Even if you do buy a lot of vegetables you aren't necessarily safe because of the pesticides used to treat the plants. If you want to eat meat, good luck finding some that doesn't contain antibiotic resistant bacteria that are created from the overuse of antibiotics in livestock. If you do find something such as a hamburger patty that does not contain bacteria, it is probably because the "meat filler" was sterilized with ammonia. Go ahead and do a double take at that last sentence. AMMONIA USED TO STERILIZE MEAT IN 70% OF ALL HAMBURGERS. That's hard to swallow.

I don't blame all cases of obesity on the food system, but I certainly think the system has a lot to do with why so many Americans are so overweight. I have now vowed to be more conscious of what I buy and consume, even if I am on a limited budget.