Pur-don't.

I thought I may very well never eat again after watching the film exposé, Food, Inc. Mostly though, I’d like to flog someone, but who? The FDA? The Purdue Chicken guy? The McDonald’s brothers? One thing is for sure, I’m glad I stopped eating meat seven months ago. It started as an experiment to see how long I could go without, still eating fish, but no beef, poultry or pork. Yes, I did see Fast Food Nation a few years ago and that stuck with me – those images of the beef slaughter houses were difficult to suppress. And it wasn’t just that, I’d been hearing a lot about hormone injections in chickens, chemically altered foods and pesticides that cause cancer. Having two friends in their 40’s diagnosed with breast cancer this year, I couldn’t keep turning a deaf ear to the rumors.

I really didn’t think my meat-less stint would last this long and admittedly, I relapsed on Thanksgiving turkey and a certain Jet's pepperoni pizza that was calling my name at a party recently. But now, this film has brought my consciousness to a whole new level. It disturbingly shows not only how meat and produce get to our grocery stores and restaurants, but what's in those packaged goods. It uncovers why there is such a rise of E.Coli and Salmonella in meat and dairy foods, as well as green, leafy vegetables like spinach. The investigation also begins to shine a light on the issue of poverty and the high price of healthy food - why does a fast food value meal cost less than a head of lettuce? We begin to understand the correlation of obesity and diabetes to low-income Americans.

I’d recommend seeing the movie, even if you plan on carrying your carnivorous ways to the grave. It raises awareness and hopefully brings attention to the ways we can make small changes in our food-buying habits for healthier eating. Utilizing farmer's markets more for organic and locally-grown produce is an excellent start to improve ours and future generation’s health and possible big changes in the food and farming industries. I know, we’re all already sick of the global-warming talks which seem so ominous and powerless but this is something we can do now to make a difference for world hunger and disease. And, if nothing else, you might lose a few pounds from consuming just one less serving of high-fructose corn syrup. What red-blooded American couldn’t stand that? Watch the trailer or film and share your thoughts.


It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.
-Upton Sinclair