Food Inc. Sparknotes

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Summary Food, Inc. is an informative documentary by Robert Kenner that highlights how chicken, cows and pigs are raised for human consumption. It also sheds light on how food choices impact health. When the documentary starts, two different chicken farms are visited. On the first chicken farm, owned by Vince Edwards, cameras were forbidden and the chicken farms were totally dark. On the second chicken farm, owned by Carole Morison, cameras were allowed in and the conditions were horrific. This chicken farm allowed light to come in, but there was a strong smell and very dusty as evident by the owner wearing a mask when she entered the farm. The chickens were in very close proximity to each other and living in their waste and amongst other …show more content…

Some of the chickens were not able to walk because their bodies were not able to sustain the weight gained by the use of steroids and antibiotics to aid in their rapid development. The manner in which the chickens were treated when they were picked up by the big chicken corporation was inhumane. They were kicked, thrown and crammed into small cages. The big chicken companies owned the farmers in every sense of the phrase. Owners were expected to pay out over $500,000 to start two chicken houses and additional fees for the latest and best for their chicken farms, but make on average $18,000 a year. Failure to adhere to their strict demands often resulted in the loss of their contract as was the case with Carole. The conditions in which cows and pigs were raised was not very different from that of the chickens. They were being fed corn to help them grow bigger and faster. They were found living in manure up to their knees and much of this manure was contaminated with E. coli. Since a majority of the animals were walking and living in this environment, it is easy for the …show more content…

directly relates to the topic of food and health. The quality of the food consumers eat is not the same as the food eaten years ago. Years ago food was not loaded with chemicals and steroids like it is today. Today, there is a rush to get the chicken as big as possible in the shortest amount of time. There is a rush to get the cow or pig as big as possible, but using the cheapest methods possible. There is a desire to get the most crops harvested and into the stores in the shortest amount of time. The quality of our food is going down while the price is going up. The increase in price is forcing more families to eat fast food. On average you can get a hamburger for roughly $0.99 but lettuce is $1.29. The price of a 2 liter soda is cheaper than juice. When most families are already stretched financially, it is cost effective for them to choose a hamburger and soda over a salad and juice. This is even true at fast food restaurants where the average cost of a salad is over $5.00. Even though the choice is cost-effective, it is costing the family more in the deterioration of their health and the medication needed to treat their health conditions. Fast food is a contributing factor for obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These are also the leading causes of death in the United States, but they are not just impacting older Americans. School-age children are being impacted by these diseases at alarming

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