Food, Inc. -- How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer--And What You Can Do About It

I enjoyed this article a lot based on the fact that it was a Q & A. I felt that the information provided gave me more insight opposed to a regular article. This way, the reader can really benefit in regard to the given topic and what it has to prove. I was particularly intrigued by the question on page 13: "Now nearly ten years have passed. How has the story of America's relationship to food changed in that time?" I really enjoy the changing aspect of any dilemma or problem. Like the issues we have covered in relation to food and its production (where/what are we eating?), I enjoy seeing the ending result to see if a technique has worked or failed. So I initially gravitated towards this area. Schlosser states: "There has been a sea change in American attitudes towards food, especially among the educated and the upper-middle class. And there is now a powerful social movement centered on food. Sustainable agriculture, the obesity epidemic, food safety, illegal immigration, animal welfare, the ethics of marketing to children--all of these things are now being widely discussed and debated (13). I enjoy the aspect that these things are broken down. It creates a general, organized idea in which society may feel that it's possible to start corrected the flaws. I particularly like that he mentioned "marketing to children". I feel as though this hits hard and over time, the ending result proves to creates problems. The movie, Super Size Me, devoted a section to just this: the fact that television pushes so so hard to suck children in. Whether it's a celebrity who is paid to help market the product or if it's a cartoon character--either way, it's something worth taking note of.

Response for Food Inc.

Based on what our class has read as a whole in regard to food and its production, I can honestly say that I wasn't too surprised what Food Inc. had to offer. I suppose my main issue/question is that if the production of food and treatment of workers/animals is so bad (even the case where the small child died)--what's being done to change these problems into something more positive? I sympathized greatly with the farmers, the mother who lost her child, and the older gentlemen at the end of the film, Moe. My question is what can be done if anything? It seems as though wanting to change for the better is ideal, but is that enough? I consider the corporations basically have the main say--it just seems like a wasted effort. I suppose I can appreciate an individual or group attempting to fight for what's right, but it really seems as though nothing is going to happen. If something does, I feel the result is so little that it'll eventually mean nothing. I had a problem with the ending credits in the film too. The words and suggestions flashing on the screen were inspirational, but to me, doing something that in my opinion seems minimal, won't in the long run make for an overall positive change. The movie posed all of these problems and issues, and the credits rolled and had answers/suggestions. I feel as though American loves convenience and money--and with those two things, it seems unlikely that attitudes will change over night. I'm saddened that something so drastic has to happen first (the child dying) before there's even talk of change.