This movie really opened up my eyes to the horrible conditions in which our food and the food of our food is treated. I knew that farms required animals for fertilization and the animals required good farm land to grow big and healthy. However, I wasn't aware that most animals were grown in monocultures. These types of environments don't even sound remotely sanitary, let alone good for the animals. Michael Pollan said himself, "Nature doesn't like monocultures." There's a certain chaos in all of nature that is necessary for the healthy growth of all organisms.
The question comes down to whether or not these are ethical situations. Simply showing the inside of the chicken farm where they were caged in tiny places, beaks cut off, and tossed about already shows that there is something really wrong about it. If an animal isn't happy, it isn't going to be healthy. If it isn't healthy, why would anyone want to eat it?
This movie focuses honestly on the ethics of raising livestock and feeding the population. "As long as it tastes good...As long as it looks good." That's all really people care about. If it's not prepared nicely, then it apparently becomes unworthy of eating entirely. If it tastes delicious, but is packed with preservatives and fatty acids, it's still worth eating. This doesn't make much sense, but happens to be the general consensus when no one gives it a lot of thought. The more thought one puts into it, the more they begin to dislike the idea. Ignorance is truly bliss in the food industry. Like Allen said, "As long as it tastes good."
I have no doubt that the industry doesn't follow the standards most people would expect at the least. People are compensated for not talking about the methods for a reason. If they were all completely ethical and safe for people and respectable, the ingredients and processes wouldn't be so hidden.
There needs to be a change in the industry, but like the movie said, the people are the only ones who can make a change.
The treatment is completely unethical. To make a point, if it's food like cows or chickens then it is completely fine. They can live in their waste, among dead animals, and be treated like dirt, but as long as they taste good, who the hell cares? A dog or cat on the other hand, don't even think about it. When we have our companions in such conditions then it makes the nightly news, the owners are arrested, and everyone makes a big deal out of these poor creatures. And the difference is you eat the cow or chicken, but not the dog names Spot or the cat named Fluffy. Both groups deserve some sort of fair treatment. Sure the first group will be dinner, but that doesn't mean anything. They're still living breathing animals. With that said, I totally agree.
ReplyDeleteI admit i am one of those people who would say "as long as it tastes good" now i'm not so sure i even want to eat fast food after watching that movie. That movie was really educational, i have never been around any type of farming and just assumed everyone did things the same. But after watching the video i know that is not true!
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested in seeing how old the film was and to see if there has been any change or some type of movement since it has come out. Because I agree that the people are the only ones who can make a change.
ReplyDeletei too think that their is a reason that they arent open about how they raise the animails. Because if we knew the truth about this we would look at the food we eat in a much different way
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