Food Co's Power: The Truth Unveiled in 'Food Inc.'

In this contemporary era, many citizens are health conscious. The documentary The Truth about your Food with Food Inc. by filmmaker Robert Kenner is a 2008 film that explores corporate farming in America. The documentary argues that the agribusiness sector produces unhealthy foods that are harmful to both animals and employees.

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The thing I found interesting in the documentary is that it is not up to the government to put food off the shelves but that of the food company. In the case of the mother whose son died after consuming the hamburger due to E.coli infection (TheLipTV 20:20), it is shocking to know that the company failed to recall the meat from the shelves. Kenner implies that based on the scenario, it is worth a while for a company to continue selling unhealthy and dangerous foods than facing a lawsuit (23:50). This is quite interesting in a sense that since companies know that it is expensive to fight lawsuits against them, it gives them the go-ahead to continue to put unhealthy foods in the shelves. Reinhardt (p.1) explains that the government subsidizes the wrong food making sustainable farming difficult, healthy food more expensive, and making junk food cheaper. Seemingly, the political system is dominated by food industries it is supposed to protect. Government support is needed for healthy foods.

The aspect I agree with in the documentary is that we are subsidizing food that is making us sick. Kenner talked about obesity, which is brought about by calorie intake in our bodies (3:04). He provided statistics that indicated by 2030, 42% of Americans will be obese and diabetes (3:10). This shows that cheap food is expensive. When considering the economic side, it is agreeable that cheap food is costly in terms of health care needs. Obesity and diabetes are linked to the economics of food choices. According to Drewnowski and Darmon (p.1), the overconsumption of sugars and fats brings about the case of the economics of food. Notably, cheaper foods result in unintended economic costs. Besides, one part that is disturbing is the hidden camera that shows the condition of chickens on the farm. It is disturbing to know that the chicken is being given antibiotics to an extent their body cannot fight infection anymore so they end up dying (30:00). Without a doubt, these dead chicken make their way into the markets, which contribute to diseases in humans.

After watching the video, some questions come into mind. For example, what are some of the innovations that drive the future of food? Also, are there any benefits to lab-grown meat? Kenner articulated that in this system, there ought to be a democracy and deeper conversation about food corporations to ensure that individuals do not consume unhealthy foods. Furthermore, I would wish to know more about diet quality and food costs where a basis of nutritional interventions and fiscal food policy can be based upon.

Overall, government policies play a huge role in the food industry. It is important for the government to be vigilant in ensuring that food industries produce foods that are healthy to their citizens. Food policies are the reasons for failures in the food industry. The growing population of obese and diabetic population is disturbing. For this reason, people have to make healthy food choices in terms of organic foods. Most importantly, individuals have to make conscious food choices by eating foods of nutritional value.

Works Cited

Adam, Drewnowski and Nicole, Darmon. "Food Choices and Diet Costs: an Economic

Analysis." The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 135, Issue 4, April 2005, Pages 900-904, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/135.4.900

Reinherdt, Sarah. "Don't Fall for Atkins PR Ploy: For Healthy Diets, We Need Strong

Government Support." Union of Concerned Scientists. 2019. Accessible at https://blog.ucsusa.org/sarah-reinhardt/dont-fall-for-atkins-pr-ploy-for-healthy-diets-we-need-strong-government-support?_ga=2.215539671.1711545700.1563022397-652011223.1563022397

TheLipTV. "TheTruth About Your Food with FOOD, INC. Filmmaker Robert Kenner."

YouTube, YouTube, 17 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oq24hITFTY&t=3035s.