In our world today food and health has become an extremely important factor. It has come to many of people’s consideration that they actually don’t know anything about the food they are consuming on a day to day basis. The films supersize me and Food Inc. discover these social problems and they do it in an amazing way. Both films use measures to give the viewer a look at how shocking health effects can be caused by fast food or even through the uses of today’s factories. Looking through the lens of a mass communications major, one can say that the idea of public relations is strongly associated in the two films, by informing, persuading and using real life events to bring forth this significant importance of health and its risks to an audience. …show more content…
The documentary Food Inc., made in 2008, had a central objective to make known the various hidden facts about the food that is being sold and bought within the stores that purchasers grocery shop in. “Chickens are being raised in half the time they were in 1950s (49 days vs. 3 months), but even in half the time they are ending up twice as big (thanks to antibiotics, among other things)” (Some Highlights from the Food). The film not only speaks, but it also enlightens viewers on the file treatment of the farm animals. “A Tyson Chicken farmer says the chickens never even see sunlight – they are kept day and night in chicken houses with no windows”(Some Highlights from the Food). The animals are kept and raised while held in tight spaces and packed with different antibiotics. "When livestock producers administer antibiotics routinely to their flocks and herds, bacteria can develop resistance, thrive and even spread to our communities, contributing to the larger problem of antibiotic resistance”(Report Examines Antibiotics). For example, when E-Coli was found out to be the cause of many sick adults and children, and some deaths, the investigation then took place and was found that the farms where the cows were being raised was so unhealthy and unclean that the animals were standing in their own feces. The film also informs the audience with the devastating news of E-Coli being in circulation from the cows standing in their own feces and then being cut into large pieces of meat without being fully cleaned. Because of this, the feces unfortunately got into the meat and had been eaten by the consumers. One can say that these stories were not revealed to shatter companies in the food industry but to inform. Most companies would rather this information be kept a secret, but little do they know that one way or another the news would be released and would get out to the
Food Inc. is an informative and revealing documentary film, aimed to expose the dirty truth of the industrial food industry in America. Directed by Robert Kenner and produced by Michael Pollan, this film informs the American people exactly what they are eating and how it’s affecting them, by painting a more realistic picture of the food industry, than that of an agricultural society. With the use compelling images, such as cattle being raised in grassless, manure infested fields with industrial factories in the background, and stories and interviews from farmers, government officials and victims throughout the film, Food Inc. reveals the horrifying immorality of the food industry, to ignite anger and disgust from the audience toward the unethical
In the United States today, a large part of the average person’s life is food. Each individual consumes nearly one ton of food each year, but never knows what they are truly putting into their body. Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, was one of the earliest works that provided people an insight to the production of their food. The novel was originally written to show the mistreatment of the workers, typically immigrants, but instead resulted in the passing of the Pure Food Act of 1906. The movie, Food Inc. provides today’s people the same insight that The Jungle gave the people in 1906.
In the 2008 documentary Food Inc. Authors Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan offer insight into the food industry in America, including how food is produced. Revealing to the normal everyday american all the things you don't know about how you get the food that in your figure right now. They reveal that the main thing that drives our current food system, like any big corporation, is cost efficiency. These cost cuts do make food cheaper for americans but it also puts their safety at risk.
Throughout American history, propaganda pieces have been used to sway the public opinion on one matter or another. The famous Federalist Papers were used to sway the early American public to ratify the Constitution. The Civil War also heavily relied on propaganda to recruit soldiers and boost morale. At the turn of the 20th century, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was written as a propaganda piece on socialism, however, it was remembered for its cometary on the ethics of the meat packing industry.
In fact, the animals are often stored in small cages or spaces with barley any room to move, many will catch a disease from their poor quality of living. Social interaction is crucial because the animals become tired of the same environment, this leads to aggression. To control the aggression, animals are often pumped with drugs. Often, if an animal is sick there will be no veterinary help because of the high cost that is required, as a result, cattle have died from dehydration or other reasons regarding the lack of care. Because the animals are seen as a profit they are bred in a way that is convenient for the slaughterhouse.
Food, Inc. leaks a certain mystery behind, which contains the true secrets about the journey food takes. Food, Inc., a documentary that demonstrates the current and growth method of food production since the 1950’s, is designed to inform Americans about a side of the food industry. Food Inc. also used persuasion to demonstrates some components of pathos, logos, and ethos while uncovering the mysterious side of the food industry in America. Robert Kenner, the director of Food, Inc., made this film for a purpose. Uncovering the hidden facts and secrets behind the food industry in America.
Schlosser’s book is a popular read for anyone. Fast Food Nation can be compared to The Jungle, which it is. Each book having a similar goal, to expose the meat packing and slaughterhouses to the public. Upton Sinclair’s, The Jungle, and Eric Schlosser’s, Fast Food Nation, show the lack of food quality and safety of the
Tyson is largest meat industry supplier in the world. Even so, the company’s treatment of animals are no less cruel than a typical animal factory. In the recent years, many farms have converted themselves to factory setting to accommodate inflating orders and sustaining larger profits. This result in a fast pace and harsh environment for animals, where their health is less important than money. Undercover animal activist groups has uncovered Tyson branch factory inhumane abusement of pigs.
Michael Pollan’s alternative to Factory farming has given a huge insight into a better ethics on food. In “The Animals: Practicing Complexity” Michael Pollan writes about a polyface farm and how it works. The goal of a polyface farm is to emotionally, economically, and environmentally enhance agriculture. Everything on a polyface farm has the potential to be helpful to something else on the farm. Pollan states “The chicken feed not only feeds the broilers but, transformed into chicken crap, feeds the grass that feeds the cows that, as I was about to see, feeds the pigs and the laying hens” (Pollan 345).
What's really taking place in the poultry industry? Both articles, "New Book Misses its Mark, Does Nothing to Educate Consumers on Realities of Modern Poultry Production", and "Is Tyson Foods' Chicken Empire a 'Meat Racket'?", have pretty convincing points; however, the latter article shows very little of facts, rather it expresses the opinions of the author and those interviewed for the article. The first article (New Book Misses its Mark, Does Nothing to Educate Consumers on Realities of Modern Poultry Production) does an excellent job of pointing out actual hard evidence on what is actually happening behind the scenes of the poultry industry. All in all, the beginning article is more correct than the second because it gives certain and definite facts that can be proved through investigation. First of all, Christopher Leonard (the author of the Tyson Foods' Chicken Empire book) provides a completely one-sided opinion, as it is said by the National Chicken Council (the authors of the opposing article).
A group that was knowledgeable of the effects certain chemicals have on food was appointed to regulating the standards of the meat-packing industry. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Division of Chemistry was charged with enforcing the Food and Drugs Act, which prohibited interstate commerce in foods, drinks, and drugs that were mislabeled or adulterated” (Badertscher). A chemistry affiliated group was put in charge of monitoring of the produced meat. The meatpacking industry was regulated and supervised constantly to ensure that any and all produce is acceptable for consumption. The meat-packing industry took a massive blow from the popularization of “The Jungle” and its revealing
These eaters ignore the politics concerning food rather looking for esthetics and quick service. Due to these disregarding’s, the industrial eaters won’t ever realize that eating responsibly is a way “to live free” (2). Berry then lists off seven points regarding how to eat more responsibly for the passive consumers. These points range from “[participating] in food production to the extent that you can” to “[learning] as much as you can, by direct observation and experience if possible, of the life histories of the food species” (Berry 4-5). Berry also believes that it’s important for the animals that meat comes from to have lived a pleasant life.
Upton Sinclair’s, The Jungle is a novel, which affected the food industry in 1900’s but also in America today. People have learned over the years the truths about the food industry, revealed through Sinclair’s detailed evidence. Sinclair meant to aim at the public’s heart but instead he shot straight at their stomachs. One would easily be convinced to never again buy or eat meat again. Fortunately, people have seen changes from 1906 and have been currently trying to repair the Food Industry.
Public Divide Over Food Science by authors Cary Funk and Brain Kenndy explored food's different views and risks. The text states that many Americans know the factors of the increased risk of their eating habits. “Concerns about obesity, food allergies and other health effects of food are fueling a new level of scrutiny of chemicals and additives in foods and contributes to shifting notions about size, sugar, and fat content” (Funk and Kennedy 3). This was brought to the public attention after the film “Super Size Me” by Morgan Spurlock was released in 2004. Spurlock wanted to make a documentary talk about the health effects of eating only fast food for a long period.
Super-Size Me is a documentary film, created by Morgan Spurlock. This documentary emphasizes the message of the risks of consuming fast food and the outcomes that fast food has on people’s health. Spurlock came up with this idea from a lawsuit that involved two young girls suing McDonalds for their weight problems. The presiding judge over this case ruled that there was not sufficient evidence that their health issues were caused by consuming food from McDonalds. As an experiment to see if these girl’s claim had any merit, Spurlock was determined to only consume food from McDonalds for thirty days and see if there was any correlation between eating fast food and declining of health.