Food

We all eat at least three times a day. We can’t survive without it. And a lot of our free time is spent thinking about what our next meal is going to be…or is that just me? As high school students we don’t often stop to think what the healthiest choice is. Often times, we just grab whatever is in the pantry, such as a Pop-Tart or granola bar, on the way out the door before we go to school or practice. But when we stop to think about it, what really is the healthiest choice? Personally, when I think of a healthy meal I think of foods like yogurt, salad, fruits and vegetables, fish, etc. But how healthy are these things?

The documentary “Food Inc.” really made me wonder what actually goes into these food products. The main focus of this documentary was how mass produced animals and crops are raised. And it definitely did a good job of getting its point across. It showed how poorly the animals are treated. Some of the stuff they showed was really disgusting and I can see how someone would want to be a vegetarian after seeing that; especially after hearing the story about the little boy dying from e-coli. But what was the purpose of the film?

To me it was all very confusing. One second it would be talking about how animals are treated poorly and the next it was talking about how farmers that grow crops like wheat and corn, aren’t allowed to clean seeds. First off, the only reason the animals are alive is to die. I know that sounds harsh but, as humans, we are meant to eat meat. That’s how we survived since prehistoric times. And second, why the hell does it matter if you clean the seeds? At least, that’s what I was thinking during the movie. I had no idea that “cleaning seeds” meant using the seeds from the plant that you grew with the first seed. They definitely should’ve cleared that up so people like me knew what they were talking about. Again this comes down to what the purpose of the movie is. Are they trying to get us to become vegetarians? Or do they want us to stop buying processed food?

Because the video was so unclear and vague on what the purpose was, it didn’t prove much of anything to me. What it did prove is that processed food isn’t always the best or healthiest thing you will ever eat, animals are treated poorly, and big manufacturing companies make it hard—nearly impossible—for farmers to get out of the business. But really, most of us already knew at least 2 out of 3 of these things and haven’t done anything about it yet. So, yet again, I ask what the purpose of this documentary is and what are we supposed to take away from it?

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