Food, Inc. According to the Emerging Infectious Diseases article from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), 76 million illnesses, 32500 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths are caused by food borne diseases. Fast Food statistics share that more than 50,000,000 people in the U.S. depend on fast food. Americans alone spend over $110 billion dollars on Fast Food, a shocking 25% of Americans. These diseases that were contracted were not only limited to Fast Food, but the food consumers purchase in grocery stores. Food, Inc is a documentary that digs deep and investigates what really goes on in the U.S. corporate farming business. In the film it talks about the economic, nutritional, and societal standpoint of how the food affects our world. A part of the film previews the point of why these “Billion-Dollar Corporations” are doing business the way they are, and the answer that keeps repeatedly coming up is that the way they are doing business is more profitable. According to the documentary, by creating a business based on the assembly line process many jobs can be done at once for minimum pay, and individual can be easily replaced if need be. The assembly line process is cheaper for the companies and provides them with quicker production, which leads to economic stability. Why wait for a chicken to be fully matured and ready to hatch in 37 days, when you can have it in 33? The animals are being genetically altered to meet the high demand of the corporations and the consumers. Basically, this process is modeled after the idea of cheap labor. These companies will take any risk, including the endangerment of consumers to make a quick buck. Numerous farmers disagree with how these companies are operating but they are being manipulated and silenced in fear of lawsuits, retaliation, or loss of their jobs.
The film looks also at the industrial production of meat, grains, and vegetables. The processed meats that Americans believe to be “healthy” actually contain bacteria and toxins than can lead to disease and ultimately death. Animals originally were made to graze and eat grass and herbs, now to speed up the production they are being fed corn, which leads to negative effects on their health. The companies’ main goal is to make a profit so they are doing anything and everything to make production quicker and cheaper. Vegetables and grains are now being genetically produced, causing them to grow out of season and contain harmful ingredients. They are speeding up the lives of the chickens so they are growing larger and quicker than ever before. What effects do the foods have on consumers? The processed foods are causing humans to contract bacteria, like E. coli that are deadly to the human body E. coli is a bacterium commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms. In humans E. Coli can cause serious food poisonings in humans, which may lead to death. There have been recent cases of humans contracting the virus from consuming contaminated water, fruits and vegetables, and meats & poultry. The alternative the film provided for healthier eating is to check all labels, and buy organic or unprocessed foods.
In this society, we are all from different financial backgrounds. Americans are about spending