"Food, Inc."

By Andrea Scarpino

Los Angeles

My father was a microbiologist who worked on water disinfection among other things, and who was raised by a butcher father who owned a grocery store. Having watched his father at work, and knowing the intricacies of viruses and bacteria, my father was—shall we say—a bit hypochondriac where food safety was concerned. If something smelled even a little bit funny, it was thrown away immediately. When he brought home fruits and vegetables from the grocery store, he soaked it in the sink through multiple water changes.

Growing up, I watched my father at work and in his home, and developed related interests in the environment and our food. I try, in the words of Michael Pollan, to Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. That is, to eat whole foods, not food “products” with funny ingredients like “cheddar cheese flavoring.” I purchase as many organics as I can afford, and have read many more PETA brochures than I care to recall. I haven’t eaten meat knowingly in about fifteen years, in part because of the treatment animals receive in the American food system. So when I went to see the documentary Food, Inc. this weekend, I didn’t expect to learn much new about the American food industry. Mostly, I wanted the film to have a good turnout so that its release would spread to cities beyond Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

But learn I did. About chickens that are forced to grow so quickly through hormones and a diet they would never eat in the wild that their leg bones can’t support their weight. About farmers who are being put out of business from lawsuits having to do with possible patent infringement on genetically modified seeds (yes, I wrote “patent infringement” and “seeds” in the same sentence. Seeds—once the purview of nature—are now patented by big industries). About meat industry workers (mostly People of Color) who suffer from terrible work environments, uncountable work-related illnesses, and low wages. About how food industry executives have basically written our food laws with their best interests at heart, not in the interest of food safety, quality or health.

And about the people who are doing what they can to buck the system, farmers who continue to reuse their seeds despite the best attempts of seed manufacturers to thwart them, farmers who are raising their cattle on grass (their natural food) instead of grain as a way to keep them healthy, prevent E. Coli, and treat them humanely. About mothers of children who have died from food poisoning who continue to battle through the American justice system to get better food safety laws passed.

Food, Inc. may raise more questions than it answers about American food safety and production, but the questions it raises are immeasurably important. Access to safe and healthy food is a basic human right, and therefore, should be at the top of every conversation about social justice, the ethical treatment of animals and the people who tend and butcher them, and the care and protection of our earth. Just in the time between seeing Food, Inc. and sitting down to write this review, Cnn.com reported a new E. Coli outbreak in Nestle cookie dough that has sickened 65 people. These food-borne illness outbreaks are the result of our broken food system, and this just shouldn’t be happening.

So please, go see Food, Inc. I promise you, it’s worth it.

Andrea Scarpino is the west coast Bureau Chief of POTB

You can visit her at: www.andreascarpino.com

Author: stevekuusisto

Poet, Essayist, Blogger, Journalist, Memoirist, Disability Rights Advocate, Public Speaker, Professor, Syracuse University View all posts by stevekuusisto