Make This Your New Year's Resolution!

I just rented the movie Food Inc. last week. I didn't see it in the theaters because I had read the all the books by Michael Pollan (Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food) and felt that the movie was going to be more of the same. However, I did blog about the movie when it came out in theaters, urging everyone to go out and see it because, frankly, its easier than reading all the books.

Now its on DVD and one random night in December when all my chores were done, kids were in bed and presents were wrapped, I decided to sit down and watch it. I wasn't surprised to see what topics they were touching upon. It followed the Omnivore's Dilemma pretty closely. In fact, they even had the owner of Polyface Farms in the movie. That was actually nice to see (to put a face to the personality). What I wasn't prepared for was the actual sickness that I felt brewing in my stomach. Halfway through the movie, I had to remove myself from the TV and was sick for the next 15 minutes. I never thought a movie could revolt in such a way. I am not a normally queasy person. Blood and guts don't freak me out so why would some benign slaughterhouses have this effect on me?

It wasn't the blood and guts that sickened me per see, it was the entire process of how our food is grown, stuffed with poison and processed. The living conditions, the storage facilities, the enormity of it all and the ubiquity of it all. It seems to me that if you are not aware of what you are eating, you will just continue to consume until your body becomes diseased (prematurely of course). Most people will choose this course of action. That is what truly sickened me.

I turned to my husband and he was reading my thoughts, "thank the Lord that we are able to afford to buy our food from a farm". I feel so much better knowing that my meat is being fed what its SUPPOSED to eat by nature. I feel better knowing its raised in a humane environment by farmers that actually CARE. I am so glad its free from toxins, chemicals and medicine. But what still makes me uneasy is the thought that most Americans can not afford or do not have access to farm raised/grass fed meat. These people are burdened with decisions such as, "do I pay for my diabetes meds or do I buy food for dinner?". Its a vicious cycle because if they never ate the un-nutritious food in the first place, they may have not gotten Diabetes.

America's lower socioeconomic classes are suffering from diseases such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes at ALARMING rates and its only getting worse. Our food supply is tainted and the government is only making it harder to obtain healthy food.

This movie is a wake up call. Everyone should see it. Don't turn a blind eye to what you consume. You only have one body and one life (not to sound like Sally Feilds in the Boniva commercial) and you shouldn't waste it by contaminating yourself with garbage.

Our food supply wasn't always like this. As recent as the 1970's there were over 1,000 meat packers in the nation, corn wasn't being subsidized the way it is today and antibiotics weren't needed to kill bacteria in the animal's rumens. Food production has changed DRAMATICALLY in such a short period of time that its actually mind boggling. Now there are as few as 13 meat packers that handle ALL of the meat coming from the CAFO's. A package of meat that you buy at your local grocer may contain ground pieces from over 100 different cows. Its scary. Not to mention the risk of food borne illnesses and we have all seen how rampant that has become in recent years.

I won't give away all the details about Food Inc. I will let you watch it and decide for yourself. But take the time to actually rent it and watch it. It would be the best New Year's Resolution that you could do for yourself. Get educated and take control of your health. Don't leave it in the hands of government because they are all getting THEIR meat from grass fed farms (I would put money on it!)