Analysis of Food Inc. Essay

Studies have shown that m whatsoever nation only oer the world argon unaw atomic military issue 18 of where their victuals comes from. When an individual goes to eat a victuals product, he or she could be completely oblivious to the methods of manufacture, processing, forwarding or transportation gone into the occupation of the solid nutrition for thought item. It is often said that ignorance is ecstasy perhaps this rings true in the case of food, its origins and its utilization as comfortably. In much(prenominal) a scenario, provide well could seem like an unlikely prospect. The exposition of eating well in youthful times seems to have gone from eating healthily, to eating ethic anyy.The manner in which food is produced and consumed has changed more rapidly in the prehistorical fifty years than it has in the prior ten thousand years (Pollan and Schlosser, 2008). With this western fence lizard transformation, non-homogeneous ethical issues came to the fore. f ood mathematical product is now take ine extensive dental plate in factories, rather than in farms. destiny doing of various types of food, from naturalizes and vegetables to seafood and bone marrow, is very oft the norm. The fact that food is mass produced directly is already something that a lot of population do non know virtually. The occasion behind this is that food producing firms do not want the consumers their customers to know too a good deal about the food manufacturing industry (Pollan and Schlosser, 2008), in the fear that customer loyalty could be lost upon their finding out various truths. To retain their customer base, according to documental film Food, Inc., narrated by Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, the image associated with food in the United States of America is that of an American husbandman. Various motifs plastered all all over food packaging and advertisements for food products, much(prenominal)(prenominal) as green pastures for grazi ng cattle, lookout fences, the typical farmhouse, vast meadows and, most importantly, the farmer, drive consumers to believe that their food still comes from farms, or at least a awkward version of small time cottage industries. With these motifs everlastingly pervading the sensibilities of the number American consumer, it is bantam wonder that the consumer continues to eat unethically they are simply in the dark. Because what these motifs re grant could not be further from the reality. The apparent crop central to all mass food production, as shown on Food Inc (Pollan and Schlosser, 2008) and alluded to in Pollans book, In The Omnivores dilemma (2006), is clavus. Corn is used in a vast assortment of vogues in the food manufacturing industry. Besides, of course, being a food crop for direct economic consumption by humans, it is used to make a draw of additives in graceful food too, such as high fructose feed syrup, ascorbic venomous, xanthan gum, et cetera. Corn is a lso a monumental constituent of sensual fodder, and is fed to virtually all kinds of livestock.These include beasts that are not pissedt, by evolution, to eat lemon yellow, such as cattle and fish (Pollan and Schlosser, 2008). The massive pauperization for maize is only counterbalanced by the massive render of corn in the United States. This is due to the American governing body subsidising the cost of production of corn, encouraging corn farmers to produce more than the meter is in truth call for. Because of such heavy subsidies, corn hold ups extremely cheap, produced at merely a dissever of its cost of production, and responses in an enormous denture of production of corn. This manner of overproduction and consumption of corn alone raises a a few(prenominal) ethical issues. First of all, the nourishment of corn to kine and fish not the natural food of such animals causes immense problems to these animals, which could constitute about serious repercussions to humankind as well. Take for instance, the feeding of corn to cows. Because corn is produced extremely cheaply, meat manufacturers are attached to use corn as their weft of feed for their livestock, in order to turn up down on the selling cost of meat. Studies have shown that feeding corn to cows has brought about the emergence of a new, acid resistant judge of E.coli bacteria (Pollan and Schlosser, 2008). This, bring together with the terrible rear conditions of the cows, causes the new strain of E.coli to get into the meat meant to be finally sold. This strain of bacteria has proven to be unreliable, having claimed the lives of many people. Knowing this, the expected creation reaction would be an outcry against the food manufacturing industry, demanding answers and greater, better checks of food producing companies. However, regular such reactions may not yield any permanent solutions. According to Food Inc., food regulatory bodies are being guide by people from the very firms they are meant to regulate. This has appeared to cause certain food monitor measures to become relaxed, such as a sharp decline in number of checks conducted by the Food and Drug politics (FDA) of the United States, from 50 000 in 1972, to 9164 in 2006. One womans constant lobbying for better checks and regulation after her son, Kevin, passed forth due to contaminated food brought about a Kevins Law, which, sextet years into her efforts, still had not been passed (Pollan and Schlosser, 2008). in that location is superficial surprise that the food produced forthwith is getting more and more dangerous for consumption. Given these circumstances, eating well has become even more unlikely the frequent publics efforts to control the role of their food gets constantly thwarted by powerful corporate and political institutions. Still, all does not seem to be lost. roughly farmers are recognising the need to de-industrialise the production of foodstuff. Michael Pollans Al l Flesh is Grass negotiation about a grass farmer, Joel Salatin, who is a non industrial producer of food, and whose methods of production revolve around grass. (2006). magnanimous complete, another article by the equivalent author, describes how food products in the whole foods gangplank are properly farmed, as inappropriate to mass manufactured, therefore being processed or refined as little as possible. on that point are some(prenominal) downsides to be noted in both instances. For one, Joel Salatin produces foodstuff only for the local population, and expressly refuses to supply meat and other animal by-products from his relatively healthier farm animals all over the country. As a result, his creative thinkers of rearing animals, as opposed to manufacturing them, by feeding them what they are meant to instead of cheaply obtained corn, are restricted to the borders of Swoope, Virginia (Pollan, 2008). On the other hand, to supply such products to various parts of the coun try, or the world, would fly in the face of the idea of sustainable food production practices. This presents quite an a paradox. Another downside would be the added depreciate of overpowering whole foods in the engineer of processed and mass produced food.One of the internality reasons for choosing to malnourish animals by blanket feeding them corn, despite the negative implications, was the resultant vogue down of cost of production of meat. This is how the average American consumer is able to put remote two hundred pounds of meat each year (Pollan and Schlosser, 2008), otherwise such large quantities of meat may not be as easily produced. People today have the filling of buying meat and animal by-products derived from freerange animals referring to animals that are left to slog freely to feed, instead of restricting their movement in enclosures for slightly more money. In economic terms, consumers seek products that minimises costs plot of ground maximising benefit. In this case, consumers are plainly unmoved by the prospect of consuming meat and other products from ethically raised animals, favouring instead, the cheaper, corn fed, mass produced alternatives. With this mentality to begin with, ethical eating habits would be effortful to foster. Completely giving up consumption of animal products and by-products entirely (i.e. bonnie vegan) has becoming a rising phenomenon all over the world. It seems, to many vegan converts, to be the move that could ball over the promotion of sustainable agriculture and animal welfare into action. However, according to an article on The Conversation, Ordering the vegetarian meal? Theres more animal phone line on your hands, turning vegan, or even simply vegetarian, could be more perverting than helpful (The Conversation, 2011). To provide the extra whole kit and boodles required to feed the changing diets of Australians alone would mean clearing native flora and wight dark arable land the coat of Victoria plus Tasmania (The Conversation, 2011) already killing off a vast amount of animals and native plants to make way for plant based food. The above scenarios only officiate to confuse the consumer even further. Most consumers do not have any way around purchasing food off the supermarket shelves that are, more often than not, tainted by ethical quandaries such as animal welfare issues etc. They also dont exactly have the option of changing their diets to spare the lives of animals, as the result could be more damaging that the actual situation. As such, an ostensible impasse seems to present itself regarding this issue. In my opinion, eating well ethically, and with as little animal blood on consumers hands will never actually be viable in red-brick society.Bibliography Pollan, M. (2006), All Flesh is Grass, In The Omnivores Dilemma, Penguin invoke New York, pp. 123-133 Pollan, M., Schlosser, E., 2008, Food Inc.,Available at Accessed 19th May, 2013 Pollan, M. (2006) Big Organic, In The Omnivores Dilemma, Penguin Press New York, pp. 134-184. The Conversation, 2011, Ordering the vegetarian meal? Theres more animal blood on your hands online Available at Accessed 19th May, 2013