Food Inc. – The Documentary Film You Can’t Afford NOT To See

Every single day, the majority of us eat three meals with some combination of carbohydrates, protein and other essential nutrients in them…at least we think we do. Most of us go to the nearest grocery store in order to stock up on the basic supplies we need for our families.  The modern system in place makes it really easy for us to weave up and down sterile, well-lit aisles and deposit countless convenience foods in our carts without ever having to break a sweat. We forget, however, that behind the trimmed beef rounds laying on Styrofoam trays and boxes of sugar-oatey-os that there’s a lot more going on in the production process – things that might make us seriously reevaluate what we choose to put in our mouths.

The film Food Inc. (opening Friday, June 12 in California and New York) details how a few select, ginormous food conglomerates in the United States have the corner on the food production market. You will probably recognize the names of the players, and while that fact alone may not trouble you, perhaps this one will. Agribusinesses, big food giants and the U.S. government seem to have a symbiotic relationship in the name of profit. They are turning a blind eye to the actual health content of the foods being produced because their bottom $$$ line is their main concern. Food Inc. reveals that the ecosystem, animals and humans are all paying the consequences due to a fully unsustainable production system. If massive food contaminations and increasingly mysterious illnesses aren’t enough to make you suspect big food’s good intentions,  perhaps the story of Monsanto’s stranglehold on our GMO and pesticide laden foodstuffs will – the same company that the U.S. government continues to prop up.

There is something inherently wrong in a system where junk food is far more affordable than actual real fruits and vegetables. Proof of this can be seen in today’s grocery store ads, where Kroger is advertising Totino’s Party Pizza for $1.19, two liter bottles of Pepsi for 84 cents (when you buy 6) and Kellogg’s Pop Tarts for $1.00/box.  If you want to buy real fruit and vegetables at the same store this week, you’ll spend $3.99 for 12 ounces of cherry tomatoes, $3. 89 for a 5.5 ounce bag of salad greens and $4.99 for a 12 ounce container of raspberries. “Healthier” foods are so covered in pesticide residue, however, that you have to wonder if you’re really doing your body good after all, no matter how hard you scrub them.

Part of the point of being a member of the Greenwala community is expanding our minds, learning about what’s going on around us and figuring out how we can implement change. Since education is key and so many people here have expressed great concern over the state of our meat production, farming industry and the overall safety of the food that we are consuming, I urge you to watch Food Inc. and share a dialogue here about your impressions.