Let me ask this question, what have we done to the food chain? When you consider that we as humans are at the top of the food chain and we are nearly guaranteeing that we get the worst garbage that’s out there – well I’ve got to say, that’s a big fat bag of stink!
If you’re wondering I finally went to see Food Inc., and for the record my wife called – before the movie started she said this will inspire you to write a column, then she scolded me for eating popcorn during a movie that was about to vilify food. Sorry popcorn is just something I do, please don’t judge me.
As you can imagine this movie ran down every dark corridor of the food industry, and there were some very dark corridors to run down. It ran the gamut of beef, chicken, pork, corn and GMO’s (Genetically Engineered Organisms). I already knew 50% of what the movie had to say, what I didn’t know however was the strong-arming by companies like Tyson, Purdue, Monsanto and what they do to the small farmer. Some of what the movie unveiled bordered on Mafia tactics and modified slavery. The premise being if you keep the small guy under a tremendous amount of debt then he/she has no choice but the comply. That means dropping prices, upgrading equipment, anything that would make the debt mount. It’s sad to think that a company like Monsanto can corner the market on a genetically modified seed, force the farmer to buy that seed and crush anyone who doesn’t – it was to say the least and huge eye opener and will forever change the way I look and purchase my soy products.
What has happened is we’ve turned our food supply into… well garbage. All you need to do is ask yourself one simple question – would you dip you chicken in ammonia before you put it on the grill to eat it? I guessing if I polled 10 people 10 people would say no! Yet it’s part of the process of making chicken bacteria free before it hits our table. Another thing to stop and think about is who is buying the most meat in this country – the answer fast food restaurants, who also have dollar menus. Where I can appreciate the need for a dollar menu it doesn’t mean I want that meat on my table at home. But that’s exactly what’s happening. Because they control a large percentage of the market that means the same process that allows the “dollar hamburger” puts that same meat on your table at home. It’s a vicious circle and we’re the end consumer.
What the movie didn’t touch on was the dairy industry, more specifically the dairy farmer. Milk is sold by the 100 weight which makes approximately 12.5 gallons of milk. Milk costs around $3.50 (on the average) that means that per 100 weight $43.75 it the NET result. Your local dairy farmer sees roughly half that, right? No, your dairy farmer sees about $10.00 of that from which they have to take out Vet bills, feed, fuel, payroll and so on. Also what you may or may not know is from that raw product about 100 other products are made of which the farmer sees not a penny. So all of that begs another question, why would anyone want to be a farmer, and that my friends is a question you don’t want answered – trust me.
So here we sit at the top of the food chain guaranteeing that we get the absolute worst. Does that sound right, it doesn’t to me. My wife and I do as much “organic” shopping as we can, Co-op, farmers market, etc. It can be a little costly – but think of your chicken being dipped in ammonia before it hits your table and I’m sure you’d gladly pay a little more.
The movies web-site challenges you to do meatless Mondays, I’ll challenge you to eat meat on Mondays, just buy it locally from an organic farmer, free range chicken, grass feed beef what ever your pleasure – because every time you buy something you vote to control the food chain or let corporations control the food chain! What the Hell is up with that?
