Food Inc. Summary Essay

The world may be in danger of what Monsanto puts on families dinner tables. According to Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele’s article: Monsanto’s harvest of fear “Monsanto’s is the world leader in genetic modification of seeds and has 674 biotechnology patents”. 90% of the GMO’s in the world belong to Monsanto. The world has inherited Monsanto’s GMO’s in North and South America, Asia and Australia. Monsanto will eventually own food if consumers continue purchasing his GM products this reason being that Monsanto modifies its crops in order to make harvesting faster and easier making it more convenient to arrive on your dinner tables faster.

In the documentary Food Inc. declares that most americans have no idea where their food comes from because the food industries does not inform the people on how they process their food to make it look as appetising. Chicken farm owners that work for Tyson are required to follow the rules of Tyson because if any Tyson employee’s, break any type of rules they are required to follow they will be fired or being threatened with getting fired. For example, Tyson requires that if they let anyone video record inside the chicken houses they would be fired because chickens are trapped in a tent, and the chickens are standing in their own feces. These chickens are so big that can only walk up to 3 steps, and then sit back down.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are an animal factory farm with an enormous number of animals that are contained in a confined area. These CAFOs feed their livestock corn, solely because it is cheap and makes them fat quickly. The high corn diet fed to cows result in more harmful E. Coli that are acid-resistant. Also, cows stand ankle deep in manure all day long with minimal room for movement. This increases the risk of contaminated products during the process of slaughtering and packing the meat. With the lessening of inspections from the FDA from 50,000 in 1972 to 9,164 in 2006 this puts society at a greater risk of consuming contaminated food. In the case of a recall, an immense number of products have to be brought back due to the mass production and the proximity of the animals in which the product was made. As the film illustrates, once this happens it is already too late for some. Children and elderly are put at an increased risk of death from illnesses due to E. Coli

Did you know that E.coli and salmonella outbreaks have been occurring so frequently in America that in 2007, there were about 73,000 cases of people sickened by E.coli? This is because we as consumers are not watching what we eat and think little of what is going on behind the closed doors of the food industry. In the well-known documentary Food Inc., it opens our eyes to the catastrophes of the food processing business and shows us just how much it is affecting our health and our lifestyle. With food being an important means of our survival, why is it doing us wrong rather than good, what exactly is going on between the government and the food industry, and what can we do to stop these industries?

Food Inc. is a documentary directed by Robert Kenner and featuring the popular author, Eric Schlosser. It is aimed towards the general audience of consumers. Specifically those who do not tend to buy organic products, but buy the processed foods, fast foods, or foods from the top food companies. Kenner’s argument is how the big food companies are dangerous to both people and animals, financially and health-wise. He goes on to argue with, mostly, anecdotes of people affected (negatively) by these companies, as well as interviews with people involved with the companies.

Since going public in 1991, Whole Foods has focused on acquiring other small owner-managed natural and organic food stores as well as opening new stores of their own. However in 2002-2006, they decided that instead of making acquisitions, Whole Foods growth strategy would be based on opening new stores. Whole Foods chooses upscale, urban metropolitan areas to place their stores. These locations are high traffic shopping locations, some are freestanding, some are in strip centers, and some are in high-density mixed-use projects. By the end of 1991 fiscal year Whole Foods had 10 stores and by the end of 2007 they had 276 stores. By 2008, Whole Foods had stores in 36 states.

Companies such as Monsanto should not be able to patent seeds because no one should be able to mess with nature and control it. A seed is still considered a living organism because seeds are a potentially a life form that requires the same elements humans need to survive. No one should be able to patent life but should take credit for it. In article, Monsanto: A profile of Corporate Arrogance studies showed that, “in the 1990s, the Monsanto corporation was feared and reviled as one of the world’s largest chemical companies, and by far the most aggressive promoter of genetic engineering in agriculture” (Brian Tokar 1). In addition, statistic involving a study in 1999 at the University of Georgia showed that “Roundup Ready” soybean plants experienced

The patenting of GMO corn and soybean seeds is quite a deceptive business move on Monsanto’s part because it appears to protect the seeds that farmers purchase, but in turn the patents really only look out for the company’s best interest. While Monsanto sues farmers and traps them in debt for using patented products, it pretends to be working for farmers’ welfare. This paper exposes Monsanto’s use of Genetically Modified Organisms exhibited in “Induced Nuisance: Holding Patent Owners Liable for GMO Cross-Contamination” to uncover the damaging environmental and economic effects their business practices have on privately owned farms. Monsanto’s use of gene patents is responsible for the destruction of many farms, the reduction in crop varieties, and the development of resistant weeds and pests all in the name of corporate expansion. This paper also reveals Monsanto’s role in the legalization and use of gene patents globally. Monsanto’s recklessness is being uncovered in this paper because their advantageous business practices exemplify greed and class

1. Whole Foods philosophy states a value in education and an informed society. They market themselves to a buyer with a slightly higher income and education level because they feel that these people are more conscious of their overall health. The demographics of an area guide’s Whole Foods in the selection process of each location. They seek out highly dense, urban areas that have high foot traffic, where at least 40% of the residents have a college degree. 2. Overall demand for natural and organic products has increased and with that rise in demand, came a rise in competition. As a result of the competition, Whole foods became the first “Certified Organic” grocer by a third party inspector. As many of their competitors continued to follow the guidelines of the USDA’s Organic Rule, Whole Foods was willing to take the extra step to become certified and have their products authenticated. Their hope is to deter consumers from buying the competitor’s products that are not certified and may not even be labeled “USDA Organic.”

Food, Inc., an American documentary film, starts by highlighting the issues of the modern American supermarket, where there are no seasonal food and the meat has no bones. It’s indicated that the transfer towards an industrial food system started with McDonald’s. McDonald’s has a mass demand for standardized food products. McDonald’s is now the largest purchaser of beef in America and one of the largest purchasers of potatoes, tomatoes, apples, and corn. Large food production company in the world has redesigned the chicken. It grows in half the time it used to, with larger breasts. It has also redesigned the whole process of chicken farming. Today’s industrial chicken farms produce a lot of food, on a small amount of land, for a very affordable

This system became extremely successful thus started the fast food industry and a search to make the food faster, cheaper and maximize profit. “Food Inc” explores this industry from to bottom beginning with the head of companies such as “Tyson”, “cargill” and “swift down” to the consequences laid upon the hourly worker.

In 1901, a small company named Monsanto made its mark in the chemical industry with the development of saccharine, the popular artificial sweetener. One hundred and thirteen years later, Monsanto is now the world leader in genetically modified organisms (GMOs). With over 1,767 seed and plant patents, they are one of the largest food and agriculture companies in the world (“U.S.”). Monsanto exemplifies the worst type of corporate conglomeration by producing toxic substances, creating questionably safe food products, and monopolizing the farming industry.

Whole foods Market targets people who are more interested in consuming high quality organic foods and living a healthy lifestyle. They want natural and organic foods and are willing to pay higher prices for that. They live in urban areas and are comparatively wealthy. Whole foods Market provides a lot of options for them and a memorable consumer experience when they shop for food. It makes sure to attract these people. In addition to this, to target average consumers it has introduced 365 everyday value offering products at reduced prices.

The public is supposed to live in a healthy lifestyle, but as many people do not know how their food is being handled and where their food is coming from our “healthy” lifestyle is at risk due to what we are putting into our bodies. In the documentary, Barbara Kowalcyk was a mother of a two year old that died from E.coli 157H7 just by eating hamburgers and she went to the USDA building to speak with Diana DeGette who works for the food safety department and explain to her what happened to her son and find a way to prevent the same problem from ever happening. Research by (CDC) E.Coli is normally found in the intestines of people and animals. E.coli are pathogenic, meaning they can cause illness, either diarrhea or illness outside of the intestinal tract. The types of E. coli that can cause diarrhea can be transmitted through contaminated water or food, or through contact with animals or people. The Kevin’s Law went into effect and was able to shut down plants that repeatedly produce contaminated meat and ammonia was added to hamburger meat to kill the bacteria that was living in the meat such as E.coli. Food safety is very important by saving lives around the nation and is a must for the government to be on top of because this is focusing on the public. The government will help the nation and countries around the world that is in need such as Africa because Africa is a low-class country and is a well-known country for viruses and infections. So, as

However, adverse side effects attributed to drugs containing statin, pushed consumers to begin looking for better, much safer alternative drugs to lower cholesterol levels. The use of stenols in containing the risk of heart disease gained wide appeal when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a statement indicating that foods with at least 3.4g stanol esters or 1.3g of sterol esters in daily servings can reduce the risk of contracting heart attack. The supplements that came into the market following the directive included Cholest-Off and Benecol and Take Control margarines from Raisio Group’s and Unilever respectively.