The meat industry is one of the largest food industries in America.
It is also one of the most misleading and unethical industries.
Why do people eat meat? It contains essential nutrients, it is a part of American culture, and it tastes good.
A lot of what makes a person choose meat is the availability in the market. Meat is cheaper than other food sources, and it is often easier to prepare.
Low costs in the grocery store, restaurants and especially fast food only assist the needs of the meat industry.
Many people have told me they could never be vegetarian.
Well, I do not believe them.
For many people, blissful ignorance plays a role in their dietary decisions.
Many people simply do not know or want to know the sources of the meat they buy in the grocery store.
Sure, everyone knows beef comes from cows, but do people actually visualize baby cows as they are eating medium-well cooked veal in a fancy restaurant? That is doubtful.
I have respect for farmers and hunters who know where their food sources come from. I wish everyone could be as informed about their product decision-making in the grocery store as farmers are about the food they raise and grow.
The problem is it is impossible to be completely informed about a product when buying from a multimillion dollar organization.
“Food, Inc.” really puts the state of modern industrial agriculture into perspective. This documentary depicts grocery stores and large meat producing industries as a new horror movie genre.
Tracing beef, chicken and even vegetables back to the original source, comparing this to a horror film is not an exaggeration.
This documentary brings to light how only a few organizations control most of the food consumed in the U.S., an issue that is intentionally hidden to the society purchasing the products.
For example, 80 percent of the beef-packing market is controlled by only four companies – Tyson, JBS USA, Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation and the National Beef Packing Company.
The U.S. is one of the largest countries in the world, and, for the average American, beef is a main source of nutrition.
That is a lot of power for four companies to hold. It is easy to imagine the effects recalls could have and have had in the U.S.
Just like any other multimillion dollar company that sells its products far below average, there are costs in the cheap food industry far higher than dollar value.
“This isn’t farming, this is just mass production, like in a factory,” Carole Morison, a previous Perdue chicken farmer, said about her chicken coops in an interview from “Food, Inc.’”
While being interviewed, Morison showed the state of the chicken coops – crowded, dirty and littered with dead chickens. She referred to the terrifying conditions of her chicken coops as normal for the chicken industry.
In fact, Morison’s contract with Perdue was terminated after she refused to upgrade to the windowless chicken houses. This means every chicken that is now produced for Perdue has never seen the light of day.
How can that be healthy?
Instead of purchasing from a company that treats its animals like an item in an assembly line, people should buy from local farmers who know where their cows have roamed and what kind of nutrition is in their chicken feed.
The solution to end this kind of factory farming is simple, and it starts with the buyers’ refusal to accept these products.
The only reason these companies exist is purely from profit and lack of public knowledge.
People need to know and understand where their food sources are coming from, and they can do this by asking questions and not giving into the pressure of the market.
By BRITTANY POWELL
Profiles Editor
bripowel@ius.edu
