Food, Inc.

I have been wanting to see this dvd for quite some time and I got a chance to the other night. WOW!
This documentary is a must see for everyone who has the least bit of concern about where their food comes from and what's in it. I made the twins watch it with me because I feel that they need to know this stuff in order to make wise decisions when they are older.

This documentary "lifts the veil" so to speak, on the secret world of commercial farming. Folks, it ain't pretty. It's downright disturbing that our government allows these big conglomerates to poison us simply because they throw lots and lots of money towards political campaigns and such. One of the farmers interviewed was a woman who raises chickens for Purdue. It was disgusting how her chickens have to live in order for her to retain her contract with Purdue. These companies get the farmer so much in debt that they are no longer able to do the right thing where their livestock is concerned. She hated the way she was forced to raise these animals but if she complained or refused, the company would threaten with canceling her contract, leaving her hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and no way to get a contract with anyone else.

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms was interviewed and the more I hear about him and from him, the more I respect him. He isn't interested in having the big contracts or selling in national grocery store chains. He simply wants to cultivate the healthiest animal which in turn will help keep the consumer (us!) healthy. He raises only enough animals that his land will support and no more. He treats them well and allows them to be the animal that God created them to be. His chickens aren't force fed to make them grow 300% faster. His cows aren't fed a diet of corn to fatten them up and contaminate them with E.coli. Yes, I learned that some strains of E.coli are produced in the cows stomach when it is fed a diet of corn (unnatural for a cow) instead of grass (how God intended). Who in the world decided that cows should eat corn when they have always been herbivores??? I'll tell you. Companies like Monsanto! Corn is cheap to produce (thanks to subsidies)and, when fed to animals as feed, makes them grow fat quickly. This all makes for more money for these big companies because animals can be sent to slaughter quicker therefore more animals can be raised and killed in a shorter amount of time. Let us not confuse who is getting rich here. It's not the farmer! It is these huge companies like Tyson, BPI, Cargill, Purdue, etc. who contract with these farmers and promise lots of money but never deliver on their end of the bargain. The farmer gets very little for his work and the American public is used as guinea pigs for these companies. How many people have to get sick and die before we wake up and realize that we need to know where our food comes from? We need to get to know farmers who produce our food. Better yet, we need to get back to having a family farm that produces what we need to feed not only our own family but our community as well. We certainly can't rely on the government to feed us because they are doing a crappy job at it!

My kids were apalled at how animals are treated and slaughtered and then marketed as if they are safe and healthy for us to eat. They now see why I will NOT buy meat from the grocery store! The stuff is poison and I will NOT allow my family to be treated that way.

I cannot recommend this dvd enough. You need to see it. Your family needs to see it. I am going to make my parents and inlaws watch it. Then I am going to donate it to our local library so the community has access to it. We have to quit hiding our head under the covers and take charge of our food system. Your family's life may very well depend on it!