Information: It's What's For Dinner

...Food Inc. has been akin to Cannibal Holocaust to me in some ways. I have had the documentary bookmarked for a long while now. I have been making a serious effort to eat as much or all organic now for a while. I read labels every time I go shopping. I cheat here and there with some sweets, but I have been scaling back. All told, I still felt that I should watch Food Inc. based on what people have told me. New information is good ammunition when deciding what to buy and eat. Still, I was uneasy about what I could see and learn that would burst my self-inflated bubble.

I can say that a good portion of what I saw in the film was not entirely new to me. I am no expert by any means and I constantly read new information. A good portion was reinforced knowledge with maybe some new means of interpreting it. There were also some segments that focused on things that dealt with the business side of food sales and distribution. All of these sections were meant to offer a balanced perspective on how meat and grains are produced, how business practices not only hurt the labor force but also the consumer and what the true cost of eating can be.

When Food Inc. was finished, I had to admit that despite a few truly shocking segments of slaughterhouse footage and even one at a local family farm (a place that produces food the proper way), I had built up this horrifying documentary in my head that was not quite as bad as expected. The hidden camera and shot footage of what I expected to be gratuitous was shocking, but doled out in a measured sense. Rather, it was some of the far less gratuitous scenes that were disturbing. It is bad enough to even be faintly aware of the chemical composition of our food supply. It is worse to see it in real time and listen to the profiteers describe the process with a smile.

If nothing else, Food Inc. served as a brace for my desire to shop with a more natural & organic mindset. I can admit that I am not the most athletically-inclined person alive. I do not know if I ever will be that person. What I do know is that if I were to continue to regularly eat highly processed foods with laundry lists of ingredients that sound like anything but food, I stand no chance of getting my being to last for the long haul. Food Inc. was a reinforcement that buying smaller portions, natural & organic food items, reading ingredients lists and finding creative ways to incorporate more fresh fruits & vegetables into one's cart is the path to walk.