Food Inc

            Food Inc examined the food industry and tried to expose the often hidden interworking of the industry. It showed the inhumane ways in which many “farmers” in America raise their animals. Chickens, pigs, and cows are kept in close unsanitary quarters. Farmers have become reliant on huge corporations and have limited say in how they run their farms. The changes in the food industry are having a very negative effect on health. Food poisoning is becoming more prevalent as we increase the amount of technology used. Diabetes is also increasing. Families find it more cost efficient to eat fast food meals, than to buy vegetables. Cheap food is replacing healthy food.

It is not surprising that as the rest of society becomes increasingly rationalization, so has the food industry. Companies work to make a profit. That is their only real concern. As long as they are making money, large companies have no regard for the impact they have no society. Processing animals in a factor setting makes economic sense, so of course they do it. Part of me completely understands this. Why shouldn’t companies maximize their profit? Even when it comes to food that makes people sick, companies main concern is money. As long as the cost of lives (and I mean the actual monetary cost to the company) doesn’t exceed the cost of making a change, companies will not make a change.   

Now while what is happening in the industry does in many ways make sense, it makes me sick at the same time. I feel like as an individual consumer, I have little control over what I eat. I can walk into a supermarket and have 47,000 choices, but the big companies have complete control over what almost every single item is. Majority of the beef is coming from the same place and produced the same way. With increasing choice, there also seems to be increasing standardization.