Food Inc Documentary Summary

In the documentary, Food Inc., we get an inside look at the secrets and horrors of the food industry. The director, Robert Kenner, argues that most Americans have no idea where their food comes from or what happens to it before they put it in their bodies. To him, this is a major issue and a great danger to society as a whole. One of the conclusions of this documentary is that we should not blindly trust the food companies, and we should ultimately be more concerned with what we are eating and feeding to our children. Through his investigations, he hopes to lift the veil from the hidden world of food.

• Those who work for a Smithfield hog processing plant say the company has the same mentality towards workers as they do the hogs

“Against Meat” by Jonathon Safran Foer (2009, New York Times Magazine) is intended to educate current non-vegetarians on what vegetarianism is, the benefits of it in terms of health and animal rights, and also the struggles of consistently being a vegetarian. Although Foer does not specifically express what a vegetarian is we can assume he is going off the generally known definition of a person who does not consume the meat of an animal, as oppose to a vegan who does not consume any animal products at all. According to an article about vegetarian Americans, 5% or 16 million Americans classify themselves as vegetarian in 2015, compared to the 1% back in 2009, making vegetarianism a growing trend throughout the US (Raw Food World). Foer proves his opinion on vegetarianism by backing it up with facts from the USDA and his own personal experiences with his babysitter, growing up struggling with being a vegetarian that loves meat, and the decision to marry and raise his child vegetarian. Foer does, however, have a few gaps in his argument about nutrition, the costs associated with vegetarianism, and the lack of a definition of vegetarian.

Food Inc., a documentary film produced by Robert Kenner that was based of Eric Schlosser book, Fast Food Nation and Michael Pollan book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, is designed to inform people by exposing the inhumane policies and techniques within the food industry. The documentary aims to bring spotlight on the reality of the food industry rather than what is portrayed through advertisement. In doing so, the film shows where it all begins in slaughterhouses as animals are raised only to be smash to death or processed in unsanitary conditions, while also including stories from farmers, government officials and victims who suffered from the food industry. The main intended audience is American people in general to warn them of the sinister side of the food industry.

Everyone has the right to know what's in the food that they are eating. It's upsetting how these massive corporations dominate American citizens. If everyone knew how much brutality was required to meet the demands of the fast food industry, I like to think the public would simply not tolerate it and demand that animals stop being designated property in law. I find it impossible to believe that if people knew the reality that they would not want animals to have recourse to legal protections from enduring lifetimes of nothing but abuse.

It has become impossible for low-income families to provide healthy meals for their families. Government, Farm policies and the food industry itself are main reasons as to why the cost of healthy foods has become harder for American families, especially low-income families, to provide the healthy foods needed to fight the obesity epidemic. With low- income families being the main focus point on the problem of

Most people in America don’t know where their food comes from, including me. The documentary Food Inc sets out to expose how big businesses are creating a monopoly over the food industry by mistreating animals, decreasing federal regulations, and creating a veil between the consumer and manufacturers. Along with these concerns, Food Inc brings to mind valuable lessons on stewardshid and causes us to consider the Christians role in it. The first issue that is addressed is the mistreatment of animals.

Body mass index, or BMI, is used by doctors and health physicians to measure excessively high levels of body fat in relation to lean body mass in an individual. Having a BMI ratio that is considered above average or too high normally denotes persons at risk to several health adversities such as heart attacks, liver damage, diabetes, and even more widespread, obesity. In 2005, the United States Department of Health and Human Services estimated that over half of the adult American population was either overweight or obese, and many of these health concerns were correlated with a person’s diet and type of food consumption. In an attempt to assign blame for the cause, political and social commentators’ claim that long standing farm subsidies on particular food commodities correlate with rising obesity trends in America. In a documentary titled Food, Inc., opened to audience in 2008, award winning filmmaker Robert Kenner argues that current agricultural policies on these subsidized food commodities are allowing major food corporations to mass produce products that negatively affect the health of consumers nationwide. He contends that commodity crops such as corn, wheat, and soybeans are heavily subsidized by the government to produce snack foods that are high in calorie content but low in cost, becoming the prime choice for Americans looking for cheap and readily available foods to eat. Kenner believes that government subsidies need to either be

With obesity rates among children quickly becoming a national epidemic, efforts are underway to identify the disparities that exist within the populations of society affected by childhood obesity and plans to end the epidemic and its far reaching implications are underway. As an ongoing problem within the United States, childhood obesity has impacted millions of children and young adults over the past decade and the numbers continue to climb. The population of children affected by high obesity rates is directly related to children coming from families within poor socioeconomic status which draws directly to the level of their parent’s education, and racial background, thereby pointing to the origin of the health disparity among children and young adults, all contributing substantially to childhood obesity rates. As one of the factors weighing heavily among the disparities in children’s health, poor socioeconomic position within racial and ethnic minorities presents as the leading factor due to underserved and underrepresented communities having a shortage of access to health facilities, gyms, and exercise services within the communities they reside in. In addition inability to obtain and afford healthier food options is oftentimes out of reach for those in the poor

David and Messer (2011) reported on a study by the National Institutes of Health that revealed the rate of infant mortality among African American women living within walking distance of the Capitol was 23.9 per 1,000 live births in 1989 1991 slightly worse than rates during the same time period in Panama and Sri Lanka. Access to prenatal care, the norm for the middle and upper classes, was lacking for this group. Family support, a non-medical factor, was also shown to be generally lacking for the lowest socioeconomic group. Studies have shown that there is a higher rate of obesity among the lower socioeconomic classes (Kanaya, Santoyo-Olsosson, Gregorich, Grossman, Moore, and Stewart, 2012).. Obesity can lead to debilitating or even deadly conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Overweight children with poor eating habits are likely to grow into overweight adults with poor eating habits; without education, they do not know how to make positive changes. In addition to the often higher costs of healthier food choices, it also costs money to join a gym or even play school

To begin this paper discusses what obesity is and how it is measured, determined and classified in children and why it is considered an epidemic. Then, provides examples of parental influences, including prenatal and postnatal care; followed by market failure and environmental influences. Next, this paper addresses risk factors of high-poverty neighborhoods including ethnicity, race and socioeconomic statistics. Lastly, the paper concludes with interventions and groups that address childhood obesity, social work role and future predictions.

Poor parents are less likely to monitor their children's diet, diet patterns and physical activity due to stress and time constraints if they work. Parents who work full-time are less able to monitor their children due to a decrease in maternal presence and availability during the day. Studies shows that poor people who move out of low-income housing into better neighborhoods are much less likely to have diabetes or be obese than people who stay behind in poor neighborhoods. Studies suggests that not only the financial burned of poverty contributes to obesity but the surroundings or type of area that an individual lives in adds to the complication. (Committee on Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity. National academic Press. ) (2005) Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: Focus on Schools. Retrieved from the National academic Press, http://site.ebrary.com/lib/devry/Doc?id=10115249&ppg=11

Surprisingly over 68 billion dollars are spent every year just on obesity related heath problems. That’s a lot of money, this money would not be spent if people were not realizing that obesity is becoming a issue for many. Adolescents who come from a poor family are 2.6 times more likely to be obese. One of the reasons is because healthy foods are more expensive to buy than quick and easy fast foods. (Facts About Childhood Obesity and Overweightness)

102). One might impugn that it is not poverty but lack of education that affects the obesity epidemic. It does not require a mathematician to comprehend that choosing a two dollar case of Honey Buns as opposed to a six dollar bag of apples will equal more food in the refrigerator. Generally, processed foods are more “energy dense” than garden-fresh foods; they contain less water and fiber but more added fat and sugar, which make them both less satisfying and more calorific (Pollan, 2006). Provisions similar to fruits and vegetables contain high water content that permits individuals to feel satiated rather swiftly. Nutritious meals are more expensive, less tasty, and are more time consuming to prepare, fostering unhealthy eating patterns. On special occasions, parents will treat their children to McDonalds where everything is “super-sized”. Adults and children can acquire debauched consumption patterns because they don’t comprehend the quantity they have enthusiastically ingested. Pollan (2006) stated that “Well-designed fast food has a fragrance and flavor all its own, a fragrance and flavor only nominally connected to hamburgers or French fries or for that matter to particular food” (p. 111).

Poverty has a direct influence on the type of food that is consumed due to the rising cost of healthier foods, as well as the fact that less healthy, higher calorie foods are typically more affordable (The State of Obesity, 2014). To get a clearer look at the income level of African American families, statistics show that nearly 40% of African American children under 18 live under the poverty line, as well as more than 12% of African American families living with an income that is less than 50% of the federal poverty line (The State of Obesity, 2014). The other predominant issue that aids in obesity in the African American population is the lack of available resources in the form of food options and education. Even with their income status excluded from the equation, African American neighborhoods contain the least amount of supermarkets compared to other neighborhoods (The State of Obesity, 2014). The lack of supermarkets near them makes it difficult to find access to fresher, healthier foods to eat in order to foster a healthier