Downfall

Honestly?  Not a great day.

I did get to sleep until 8 a.m., which was great.  Brent left on his 109-mile bike ride before I even got up, and he was gone most of the day.  Somehow I missed that this was going to be a longer ride.

I ran some errands, went shopping, and picked up some things for the raclette party tonight.  On the way home I drove through a BBQ place in town and got a sandwich + fries.

Here’s where I went wrong.  After eating this benign-looking lunch, I got SICK.  Really sick. The kind of sick where you just have to lay still – I had the chills and everything. Oh goodness – I cannot even think about it.  I do believe this meal may have killed my appetite for BBQ forever.

So, needless to say, I did not go to the raclette party.  The thought of cheese + sausage + wine was too much for me.  However, Brent went, and I hung out here with the pugs all night.

Movie Review: Food, Inc.

Tonight I was bored, so I watched the documentary Food, Inc.  [And no, the irony is not lost on me.] It was very interesting.  Several parts of it made me angry.  I hate to draw conclusions about things from only one side of the story, but the images of the chicken farms and slaughterhouses were compelling and disturbing.  I agree with the comment made in the film that there is a veil between consumers and where our food comes from.

The film was good, but I am just naturally skeptical about documentaries.  Obviously they are biased in a major way – some one has an opinion/passion and wants to get others on board. With that said, some things are just common sense.  Raising chickens that are never exposed to sunlight kind of sells the point, no bias necessary.  As does the image of  live chicks on a conveyer belt in a factory. What??!!!  And these are the more tame images in the film.

Obviously one 90-minute documentary cannot even begin to scratch the surface of this massive issue. This is not just about nutrition, but about politics, ethics, and even the environment. 

This film is not going to make me become a vegan or vegetarian. I definitely don’t think there is anything ethically wrong with eating meat.  However, it is disturbing that the animals and farm workers (something I never realized) are abused in the process.  It is horrifying.  Obviously, human life is far superior to animal life and I do not think that it is cruel or wrong to raise + slaughter an animal for food.  However, I worry about the acceptance of inhumane treatment of animals because of what it might possibly lead to for humans.  What happens when we as a society are desensitized to it?

What really impressed me the most, though, was the realization of how little thought I put in to my food on a daily basis.  I know that meat comes from slaughtered animals, but I don’t really like to think about it. I usually shop for price without thinking about the business behind my food.  However, there would be no product without consumer demand.  Therefore, when I buy meat from these companies, I am basically saying that their business practices are okay with me.  I find it interesting that I will eat meat as long as some one else processes it, but if I had to process it or even be close to the processing – no way!

What we feed ourselves is so important; it is crucial to our health. Really, we are what we eat.  Why, then, would I buy food based only on the price?  I don’t buy only the cheapest clothing or furniture.  Like it mentioned in the film – no one shops for the cheapest car.  Why in the world would I not put more thought behind the things I put into my body?

After checking out some of the resources on the Food, Inc. website, I am going to start making more of an effort to improve my dietary decision-making process.  I’m not saying that I’m going to make drastic dietary changes, but I sincerely desire to at least be more mindful about my food choices and become more educated on food politics.

Ultimately, this documentary is definitely interesting.  Hopefully information of this nature will become more widespread and consumers will realize the power of the choices they make at the grocery store.