Food Inc. By Eric Schlosser And Michael Pollan

“Food Inc.” is a documentary which uncovered the truth about food industries in America. Contrary to the images they are showing to the public, animals like cows and chickens are no longer raised on the field but in unsanitary and infectious houses. Cows are forced to eat corns instead of grass, which caused them E. coli, and instead of abandoning this new technology companies just use more chemicals to erase virus out of meat. Farmers and workers are forced to work underpaid and not allowed to talk about the companies’ policies. Slaughterhouses are getting bigger and bigger, thus it is easier for virus and bacteria to pass from one animal to the other through the hand of the workers. FDA and other government agencies do not address the issues because many of the heads of these agencies and other Congress members have ties with food companies. Therefore, the government subsidies unhealthy food while leaves vegetable’s price go off the roof, making it impossible for poor families to eat healthily. Moreover, it is illegal in some states to criticize food corporations, as Oprah Winfrey was sued for criticizing

Junk food is responsible for the growing rate of obesity. This is outlined by David freedman in his article of “How junk food can end obesity.” David Freedman has credited the “health-food” motion, and followers of it along with Michel Pollan. Freedman claims that if the America desires to stop the obesity epidemic, or at least reduce its effects, they must shift to the fast meals and processed meals enterprise for assist, now not the “health-food” movement.

Intro: When people eat food they do not think about what is in it, or how it is made. The only thing people care about is what the food tastes like and how much they get. During the 1900’s the meat packing industry had not regulations of any kind. All that mattered to the industry was that they made as much money as possible with as little expenditure as possible. During this times people were often made sick and died either from working conditions or poor food quality. Although it may seem that the meat packing industry is still in turmoil because of their unwillingness to make known what foods have Genetically Modified organisms present, the meat packing industry was much worse during the 1900’s because of the unsafe working conditions, and uncleanliness of the food.

In “How Junk Food Can End Obesity,” by David H. Freedman, he claims that processed foods can help fix the obesity crisis in a more realistic manner, rather than whole-some foods. The popular opinion emphasizes whole-some foods because they aren’t informed about the similitude between processed and unprocessed foods. The essence of the essay is that people believe processed foods are bad and unhealthy for us, therefore whole-some foods are highly recommended for the health of an individual. Freedman mentions many prominent authors who wrote books on food processing, but the most influential voice in the food culture Freedman makes a point of is, American journalist, Michael Pollan. The media and Michael Pollan indicate that everything should be replaced with real, fresh, and unprocessed foods, instead of engineering in as much sugar, salt, and fat as possible into industrialized foods. With that being said, most restaurants and grocery stores are declining industrialized foods, giving the name, “food-like substances.” Freedman feels that it is not a realistic way to stop this obesity epidemic by trying to persuade people into completely changing their habits of eating. Instead, Freedman believes that incorporating better ingredients in processed foods will

In his interview Pollan mentions, “not only do we need to spend more money on food, we need to spend more time on food”(6). This is a healthier option rather buying fast food or processed food at the store because there are ingredients in these foods that are not as safe for people to eat. Even though it is a quicker option that many Americans prefer, eating fast food is not beneficial for people in the long run. Pollan goes on to say “We have outsourced food preparations to corporations, by and large”(6). Food is not being prepared as often as was in the past and people are giving corporations their money by purchasing their processed food, which is why corporations are taking over. Less people are preparing food because they believe it is easier for them to just buy processed food and they do not want to consider the negative effects it could have on them. Pollan provided valid points in his support to prove that his claim is

More cheaper and “efficient” products mean more money coming their way. As people are getting more greedy with their income, the people who can not afford the better choice of a healthier diet are getting unhealthy. “More sweeteners, salt, and trans fat. Cheaper meat, more animal fat”, Saletan expressed. As a server at a ramen restaurant, I fully understand how this works. People that we call regulars comes to eat out every single night. Along with the information that I know that the food that we serve is in honesty, a giant rip off. A ramen bowl that cost up to twenty three dollars for all

For many decades the food system was an endless controversial issue on how our food was processed and the impertioness. This issue influenced Upton Sinclair who wrote a book called “The Jungle”, which exposed the secrets of the meat industry and unsanity poor conditions of the slaughterhouses, indeed, this book inspired president Roosevelt right into action for solutions for the problem, with great struggle the meat inspection Act of 1906 came into law. Till today many reformers and authors are exposing the large corporations that have full control over the food production and how fast foods had a huge affect on families all over the world. For example, Fast Food Nation, Food Inc, and Fast Food Babies had one aim and that was to bring awareness

In the twentieth century, the government of the United States began taking more of an interest in the food industry. Soon after the twentieth century began, the government realized the harsh conditions in the factories and how unsanitary they were so they went from favoring big businesses to passing laws against the cruelties they did and regulating the items sold in the United States. The government’s regulation of the food industry in American history has evolved from them ignoring the problems and letting factories do what they wanted in the nineteenth century, to them having full control over the food industry in the present-day by passing laws and creating organizations such as the Meat Inspection Act, Pure Food and Drug Act, and the Food

In the segment called Unintended Consequences, Patricia Buck and her daughter Barbara Kowalcyk, who are food safety advocates, visit Washington, D.C. to speak with Diana DeGette, a representative from Colorado, in order to spread concern for E.Coli and get support for Kevin’s Law, a bill that has been in circulation to pass through Congress in remembrance of her son’s death. This example shows that the documentary aims to connect with the consumers to show the risks they should fear as they are at the will of the companies. Kowalcyk’s account also supports the main argument that the documentary is trying to convey, which is that factories are more unsanitary than before. To support their case, the documentary visits Beef Products Inc.(BPI) in Nebraska and speaks with Eldon Roth, the founder of BPI, to uncover the conditions of some of his different beef factories. According to Roth, his factories are ones that are ahead of normal standards from a food safety standpoint. However, even though E. Coli is being prevented, the beef is glossed with ammonia and other chemicals. This establishes credibility because it relates to people within the audience who may be worried about the processes that foods go through. These chemical processes can affect the healthiness of the beef producers, and in Maria Andrea Gonzalez’s case, the healthiness of food has changed her family. Due to the fact that healthy food is oftentimes more expensive than massively produced unhealthy food, Gonzalez's family often opts for cheeseburgers instead of a head of lettuce at the supermarket in the segment, The Dollar Menu. This is a common interest for many families because of the convenience that fast food brings. In addition, Gonzalez’s account shows the consumer

We come across varieties of food everyday, but we know very little about where it comes from and their history. Reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma opened my eyes to all that goes into producing what I eat. Pollan explores three different modern food chains in his book: the industrial, the organic, and the hunter-gatherer. He put together his investigation into four meals: a fast food meal eaten in the car, an organic meal from Whole Foods, an organic meal from a family run farm, and, lastly, a meal for which he gathered, grew and hunted all the ingredients. Reading through his journey we find that we nearly always prioritize abundance and want to create as much food as possible at as cheap of a price as we can. Thinking about food

The articles of discussion in this essay is The Food Movement, Rising and The Meal: Grass-Fed by Michael Pollan. His first article is broken into three “chapters” that each supports a different view behind the food movement. Overall Pollan’s stance throughout this article is in favor of the food movement and he helped bring a large general audience together that could resonate with one of the offered perspectives. In his first chapter Pollan talks about the unhealthiness behind the modern food industry and how fast food is affecting the public’s health and wallet. Moving on to the second chapter, Pollan highlights various organizations and familiar faces, such as Michelle Obama, that are involved and trying to elicit change within the political

In today's society Americans are accustomed to and spoiled by having their food made in a quick time frame while not having the slightest clue where the food is coming from. No, not everyone is going to try to figure out exactly what is in their food. More often than people know, the food they eat day in and day out is not as clean or healthy as they may think. Unfortunately, the healthcare and wellbeing of citizens are sometimes not being taken into consideration, when pertains to food. Of course food companies know humans need food to eat and more will be bought, especially when the cost of the product is low, but is it safe to consume on an everyday basis? Different people will have have their many opinions about that, but one thing for sure is food goes through a lengthy process to be grown and sold, yet not all people have access to it and citizens never really know what they're eating.

Initially, Michael Pollan, author of the eating manual Food Rules appeared not to understand the actual science of eating. the first few rules called out many foods we eat as containing “chemicals” and to avoid them, even though everything we eat, including health foods, is by definition a chemical. Upon further reading, the other rules did have very relatable and thoughtful meanings and applications. I particularly resonated with rule 53, “Don 't go back for seconds”, rule 47, “Eat when you are hungry not when you are bored”, and rule 55, “Eat meals.”

One reason the industrial food chain is the best to feed a American family is because it is cheaper. In the book Omnivore's Dilemma Michael Pollan talks about CAFOs,

The main points discussed in the film were that the food industry is very powerful. Food industries not always good to farmers or the animals they produce. Normally the meats that they produce or have people produce for them are not raised naturally. 90% of foods on shelves contain soy or corn. E Coli is a huge problem that many aren’t doing anything about to change. Food systems are projected towards the bad calories. There are many hidden costs in this industry and Monsanto and their GMO’s.