"The way we eat has changed more in the past 50 years, than in the past
10,000." That's the main phrase of the new documentary Food, Inc which
examines the food industry and it's business practices.
Most foods in American supermarkets come from a small group of multinational corporations. It does not come from some family farmer in overalls who owns his own land, which is what advertising and marketing by those corporations wishes you to believe. The film follows the products from the supermarket, up the supply chain to the factories that produce them. Hidden-camera footage of slaughterhouses and mechanized food factories shows the condition and treatment of the animals that ultimately end up on our plates.
Other practices are highlighted as well. Tomatoes are grown half way around the world and are gassed to ripen and turn red any time of the year. Did you know that up to 70-75% of processed foods on supermarket shelves contain genetically modified ingredients? Genes and DNA are swapped between organisms to create foods that have unnaturally long shelf lives or for bigger, faster growing livestock. There are tomatoes with genes from flounder fish, fish with cattle genes for growth, and pigs with human growth genes as well.
The FDA does not require labeling of genetically modified foods,
even though we do not know about the dangers of consuming them.
According to The Center for Food Safety, "A number of studies over the past decade have
revealed that genetically engineered foods can pose serious risks to
humans, domesticated animals, wildlife and the environment. Human
health effects can include higher risks of toxicity, allergenicity,
antibiotic resistance, immune-suppression and cancer."
Among
some of these issues are the struggle between small farmers and these
corporations. There are instances where those large corporations have
used lawsuits to sue the farmers into bankruptcy and out of
competition.
Anything you put into your body affects your overall health and
fitness, and this movie is about what impacts all of us every day, food.
Movie website: http://www.foodincmovie.com/
The Center for Food Safety, genetically modified foods: http://centerforfoodsafety.
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