Homesteading (28): Fast food companies and agroconglomerates

This video is in part a response to stephenhayes' recent experience selling his traditional variety English apples at a British farmer's market which is closing down next year.

I have been strongly influenced in my thinking about the food we eat by Eric Schlosser's 'Fast Food Nation', a book which shockingly exposes: the power and influence of America's fast food companies and agro-conglomerates on the nation's eating habits, the appalling conditions of employees in the food industry, and how current industrial-style food production (e.g. feed lots for cattle) is wreaking havoc on America's natural environment.

I am also a huge fan of Morgan Spurlock's 'Supersize Me', a documentary that illustrates the impact fast food can have on our health, as well as highlighting how the massive advertising budgets of fast food companies are specifically targeted at children to ensure they remain cradle-to-grave consumers of their products.

Allan Gregg interview with Eric Schlosser: http://www.youtube.com/user/ivankinsman?feature=mhee#p/a/f/1/TNwQXCniGkU

Food Inc. youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=906o75m7EjU


http://www.foodincmovie.co.uk/

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nations food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our governments regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nations food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that wont go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivores Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eaters Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfields Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how its produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

Buy the DVD at http://shop.dogwoof.com/products/food-inc

Stream the full film by visiting Dogwoof TV at http://dogwoof.tv/watch/food-inc. You can also make money by sharing the Dogwoof.TV player with your friends - see the FAQ on the website for more details

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Fast
• food
• Eric
• Schlosser
• Morgan
• Spurlock
• Supersize
• Me
• Food
• Nation
• agroconglomerates
• Inc
• Eating

[redwolfmoonhowl]

Oh, no, it gets worse.

It's not even just Fast Food, it's ALL food.

If it comes in a box, bag, microwavable insta, the entire food system is wonk.

The only way to get anything close to 'real' food is either be rich or grow it yourself. The poor are having major obesity rates because the cheep unhealthy food, is PURPOSELY set up to be all they can afford.

Have you seen 'The Future of Food' made in 2007?

Might wanna check it out if you haven't.

[ivankinsman]

@redwolfmoonhowl I have not heard of The Future of Food and will check it out - it's an interesting area and I would like to see what its view is...

[BobbySoFamous]

Food Inc is amazing. A real eye opener, and heart breaker at times. If you're keen on torrents you can find it pretty quick

[redwolfmoonhowl]

@ivankinsman 'The Future of Food' is mostly about crops, how companies are genetically altering and then -patenting- them. Basically, Monopolizing crop seeds.

Honestly, when you really dive into trying to find out about your food here in America... It's pretty scary.

I don't mean to sound like a conspiracy freak, but... When you watch TV and all the commercials, you can't help but think somethings up. Like... 'Hospital making people sick so it can keep making money off them' kinda deal?

idk

[dustyanderson1]

Since they sent all our manufacturing jobs over seas... fast food is all we have left. They would have sent that over seas too but they can't figure out how to keep the fries warm on the ocean freighter that long... lol.