The American food system has changed over the past fifty years. It has become more industrialized, more "efficient", and more relint on corn. At the same time, our food system has become more mechanized, dangerous, and unhealthy. Since these changes occurred, the rate of diabetes has increased sharply, as anyone that was born after 2000 has a one in three chance in developing them. Our system has also become more dangerous, with more foodborne illness outbreaks in the past 30 years, then in any other period of that time. Something needs to change in this industrial system, and it's going to need a government reform, yet that may never happen because the food industry lobbys for a lot of major politicians.
Film Vs. Book-
Both the movie, Food Inc., and the book, Omnivores Dilemma cover similar ideas. The way they go about showing these ideas is different. That was evident in the parts where the movie and book discussed industrial organic foods. The movie was more for the industrial organic, explaining how the earth isn't getting poisoned by pesticides. The film was showing people who were saying, "the bigger, the better" when it comes to organics.Two other things that indicate the approval of these farming techniques were that this section was accompanied by upbeat music, and they didn't show these organic factories. In the book Omnivores Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, the book covers the same idea, just was opposed. He went to one of the organic factories, and realized that the way they grow food isn't much better then the regular industrial farms and factories. One reoccurring difference between the book and movie was that, Michael Pollan's book let the other side explain themselves, while the movie just gave short clips of people supporting the other side (industry), without any elaboration.
Thoughts-
Throughout the movie, I realized how ridiculous we've become when it comes to food. For the most part we sacrificed all our quality for quantity. Our food workers are not workers, they're robots. Our food isn't really safe to eat, and there's nothing we can do about it, because the USDA, the people who are supposed to be protecting us, have no power. Are animals are treated like waste, and they're always covered in their own. The emotion I feel about this, anger.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteThis strong post - thoughtfully, and even artfully put together, shows what you're capable of. Also impressive was your post on "dominant discourse" - you're one of a few students who demonstrated a clear grasp of that complex concept.
Your work on this blog seems inconsistent to me. Sometimes written for power, sometimes just written to get it done. To reduce that inconsistency you should allocate more time to writing, editing, and re-writing your posts.