Probably not the first "FOOD, INC." post

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daddyratty
daddyratty Posts: 305 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My wife and I watched "Food, Inc." last night.

We're flabbergasted. Fortunately, my wise wife already avoids many of the pitfalls that seem to be plaguing our country and the food supply.

If you have not yet seen this movie, FIND IT AND WATCH IT!!! It is amazing how much control is exacted on our country's food supply by such a small number of companies.

And the part about Monsanto and soybeans is crazy! We avoid just about everything with soy anyway.

If you've seen the movie, what change(s) did you implement as a result of watching the movie?

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  • crazymama2two
    crazymama2two Posts: 867
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    and your very next flick should be "Supersize Me"

    dear lord...we have not had any fast food in this family since watching that - and it's not just the fast food part, it's the part about the chicken and nuggets...i now make my own nuggets and theyre yummier all around...:shudder: to thikn at what i've done to my poor body and kids bodies....but no more!!!
  • daddyratty
    daddyratty Posts: 305 Member
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    I'll put that one on my list. Thanks!
  • laurelderry
    laurelderry Posts: 384 Member
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    I LOVE that movie. I was on a roll for awhile being a crazy pushy advocate for organic eating. We get all of our fruits and veggies delivered by Full Circle Farms (local farm) every other week. Additionally, we are able to buy meats and dairy products from them, which we do about 60% of the time. My boyfriend still likes his frozen nasty foods and whatnot, and with them being in the house, I find myself eating them occasionally- but with much of the food bill going to the organic foods- I find myself eating that more than anything.
  • andreadawn1012
    andreadawn1012 Posts: 52 Member
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    I watched both of these videos in my Nutrition and Health class for my college degree and I was sickened by both of them, especially Food, Inc. Just think of all of the E. Coli in your beef...yuck!

    A law was just passed that deals with genetically altered seeds (I think alfalfa or soy maybe) and them being allowed to be planted wherever there is a plot of land available regardless of who owns the land or what other seeds may be planted there. So basically you could plant these seeds next to a plot with organic seeds and then there could be cross contamination. Nothing the farmers can do about it now except fight congress on it. Monsanto is an evil evil company and they are based out of Missouri...wow!
  • JoyfulJC
    JoyfulJC Posts: 18 Member
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    I agree. My fiancée and I have watched many documentaries about the food and farming industry. It is a shame that companies like Monsanto can put our farmland at risk and take away the rights of our farmers. Genetically modified seeds is a scary technology that will leave us unable to feed our great grandchildren if we continue down this path. We need to get back to the basics of farming and implement sustainable farm practices. I know many farmers (organic and non) that are doing this already.

    My fiancée and I do the best we can when making our food choices. We buy organic whenever possible (especially keeping to the clean fifteen/ dirty dozen list). We try to make our own homemade items (mostly breads and chips) to avoid processed foods and preservatives. We also avoid all fast food restaurants. We also have cut back on our meat consumption and incorporate other protein sources as needed.

    We vote each day with the food choices that we make. Let's make sure that vote counts!
  • Pril2000
    Pril2000 Posts: 254 Member
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    I have seen it and I think everyone should watch it. I have pretty much given up red meat and most cow products. I buy goat products, milk, cheese, yogurt produced on local dairy farms. It's easier to digest than cow products and I know that I'm not contributing to the torture of those poor animals.

    I try to buy my veggies & fruits from markets and local growers and only things that are in season from the grocery store.

    I hate buying chicken from anywhere but a market where I know they're raised locally. This movie has prompted me to do more research about food production. A very good book to read is, "Fast Food Nation". I'm not sure the author at the moment, but it was a bestseller. You will never eat fast food again (if you still do at all now).

    I am also planning on purchasing some land in VA to have a home, buy some goats, chickens, pigs and start a mini farm to produce my own food. It's easier than you'd think and I'll always know where my food comes from. I know some people think that it's just the hippies trying to spread their hippie propaganda, but I don't care. I have seen the truth about where our processed food comes from, and I make the choice to put better things into my body.

    I'm glad to see someone else affected by this film. There is a good show on CurrentTV called, "Kill it, Cook it, Eat it". If you're not squeamish, I'd recommend looking it up OnDemand. It follows the animals from the pasture to the plate and leaves no details unshown.

    Also, I can't believe the control that big companies have over the farmers in America. We literally would starve without them and they barely make enough to live every year. They are ruined by big business when they don't follow the rules and they have little to no rights. What does this say about us as a country? We can't take care of our resources? We don't care about where it comes from as long as it keeps coming? We don't care what we feed our people as long as it makes us money? It's irresponsible and it makes me highly irate. As you can tell by this rant.

    Sorry about the length of this post. I could go on for days.
  • JeninBelgium
    JeninBelgium Posts: 804 Member
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    I haven't seen that movie- and I still eat lots and lots of junky processed foods but I am growing more and more of my fruits and veggies, I buy most of my meat* from the local butcher whose products are either from her own animals or from other local farms, my flour for my bread comes from a local mill, or bread from one of 4 bakers in my village and milk and butter, eggs and a lot of our cheese from a local dairy farm- we are lucky to live in an area with a lot of local producers

    heck if I wanted to I could even limit my wine and beer to locally- nearly all of our wine comes from within a days drive anyway and beer within a few hours- but we are lucky to live in such an area most people do not have these options

    my meat that is not from a farm is either fish (which comes from all over the world) or when I buy cans of sop etc- then of course who knows where that comes from

    The craziest Monsanto (or was it ADM) story I ever heard was when one of those corporations took a small farmer to court because he "stole"their intellectual property (mind you I work in IP Law) - this Canadian farmer always collected seed from the plants that he harvested ( can't remember which crop - one of the oil seed crops) and used that for the next season- well because the corporation's modified Genes easily crossed pollinated with nearby crops the corporations intellectual property ended up in the farmer's seed - thus by the act of gather seed from his own crops (which he did every year!) he STOLE their property
  • bitabee
    bitabee Posts: 209 Member
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    A fantastic and eye-opening film. I have yet to buy ANY ground beef that is not organic since last November. We eat much less meat now, (cheaper and healthier) and my husband and I feel great!!
  • andreadawn1012
    andreadawn1012 Posts: 52 Member
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    I'm pretty sure that the author of Fast Food Nation is the one who helped do Food, Inc.
  • daddyratty
    daddyratty Posts: 305 Member
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    Jeninbelgium, "Food Inc" profiles a farmer that may be the story you're thinking of ... it was a farmer in Iowa. He had to settle out of court when he ran out of money to pay his lawyers.
  • appleofmyeye
    appleofmyeye Posts: 94
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    Food, Inc. had a big influence on me. So did Michael Pollan's books The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. I had honestly never thought much about where my food came from until I read the books and saw the movie. I was blown away by how frightening our food system really is. Now, my lifestyle has completely changed! 90% of our fruits, veggies, meats, eggs, milk, and cheese come from the farmer's market, and the rest of our groceries are organic bulk foods--flour, dried beans, rice, oats, nuts, dried fruit, etc. My husband and I buy local and seasonal foods as often as we can, we cook all the time, and we are eating healthier, tastier foods now than we ever did before.

    I posted a semi-related topic the other day if anyone's interested in reading:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/181772-why-i-refuse-to-drink-the-kool-aid
  • klross
    klross Posts: 49 Member
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    Quick question for you all.... does this film show harming of animals in any way? I'm interested in watching, but I truly cannot watch anything with cruelty to animals. Thanks.
  • daddyratty
    daddyratty Posts: 305 Member
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    Yes, it does. It's not very graphic, but it does show a scene I'd seen before with a forklift attempting to move a hobbled cow. The fate of the chickens is fairly sad, too.
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 MFP Moderator
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    I had pigs, cattle and chicken last year before this video crossed my path. I'm enjoying doing my part to give the animals a happy life while they're here, my cattle are pasture fed not confined in a feed lot, pigs did their share of work breaking up some rough ground that was tearing apart machinery before they hit the freezer. I've got 2 freezers full of beef and pork, have fed 4 house-holds this winter and will have more cattle next year. The ground the pigs broke will be this years expanded garden and this years pigs will break up next years berry patch for me, while getting to do what they do, rooting around.

    Garden also rocked, with rhubarb, raspberry, potatoes, beets, zucchini, carrots and other things that we actually eat, has really decreased the amount of processed food I end up buying. Still need to source some wheat-berries so I can mill my own flour or maybe I'll let the pigs break that ground too and grow for my own needs.

    "Farms" as endless fields of mono-crops require a lot of inputs, and here at least the prices for the yield are pretty stagnant while the cost of production is going up pushing more and more to the brink. I'm enjoying my piece of land so much more with the variety, may add rabbits this year. Nothing like going out to feed the animals and being able to gather your own breakfast from them.
  • liveskinnyxo
    liveskinnyxo Posts: 259 Member
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    has anyone here seen the interview on youtube (i forget the name, but im sure you can google '4 year old mcdonalds') where a woman saved a happy meal for 4 years & it was still completely in tact, except for being hard. the fries didnt even have mold! she compared them to a month old fresh potato & i was SHOCKED! havent have mcdonalds since...
  • kouzzzz
    kouzzzz Posts: 540 Member
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    Watch these movies: King Corn, Food Matters, The World According to Monsanto. You can watch some of these movies on You Tube. I buy mostly organic foods.

    I avoid

    Artificial colors and flavors.
    Sweetners: High Fructose corn syrup (HFCS), Aspartame, Splenda (also named Sucralose), etc..
    ALL PREPARED FROZEN FOODS
    Aniimal products with recombinant bovine growth hormones (rBGH) or antibiotics.
    Stay away from corn or soy (70% are genetically modified) ---- buy organic corn. Stay away from soy all together.
    All sodas even diet. Eventhough diet sodas have 0 calories, they increase your appetite.

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