Food, Inc.

After months of finally wanting to watch Food, Inc., we got down to business and did. However, life with a crawling six month old (almost 7!) means that 1) we hardly ever watch tv or movies anymore, and 2) its definitely well after Ella is asleep and all of the things that we didn't get to throughout the day are done. So, it was watched in small spurts over the course of a few days. Which, might I add, I think is best. It gave me time to get over my horror of small chicks being sent down conveyor belts or closed-in chicken houses and really process the things that I never knew about what we eat. Thankfully, I had watched a mere 9 minutes before heading to the grocery store. That was plenty for me to pick up the "cage free, antibiotic and hormone-free eggs" as well as the organic, vegetable-fed chicken. Yes, I did spend $3.29 on a dozen of brown eggs versus the $1.79 on regular grade-A (I'd give them an F!) white eggs. But, it gives me a little more peace of mind knowing that hopefully I'm making a better choice for us. This won't be to say that I'll never eat non-organic meat or eggs again. I know I will and that will be ok. But at least I can control what we cook with when we eat at home.

It's amazing to think that the fast-food concept and McDonald's alone created much of the way that food production is done today. While I'm not usually a fan of fast-food burgers anyway (unless apparently in the early weeks of pregnancy where I drove out of my way - or just left the house to find them!), I've eaten my share, knowing that the ingredients weren't ideal. But, I never stopped to think about large-scale feedlots and the conditions the animals were kept with, or the fact that ammonia is used to wash beef down. That can't be safe, can it? It also appears to be true that a few hands continue to hold the power in both Washington and in the big company names, thus making it very hard for more rigid policies to be put in place in order to help make our foods safer. I will say that I was impressed by Walmart wanting to sell organic foods, despite the cost increase. While they are doing it purely from a profitable standpoint, at least organic foods are becoming more available.

All said and done, I finished this documentary feeling much more informed. While I often feel that I alone can't make change, it is true that eventually if many, many people changed their eating and buying habits, then the farming industry (who are unfortunately pushed by big-ticket companies such as Tyson and Purdue whether they like it or not) will also change.