Yesterday Marcus and I watched Food Inc., and it completely changed my mindset. It gave me a better understand about exactly who and what I was fighting against. I am now 100% resolved to purchase only organic meats, and now I feel it may be a little more difficult for me to go out to eat anywhere that I do not know is organic (Thank God Chipotle is!!!) beause I don't think I could swallow that food knowing what has probably been done to it. I've posted a few facts found in the movie, but I seriously seriously seriously suggest that you watch this movie. Educate yourselves. This is YOUR life and the life of your children that they are putting at risk. We need to be vocal about this, or it's never going to change. Remember, YOU have the power!!
*"In 1970 there top 5 major beef packing companies controlled only about 25% of the market, the rest being made up of local butchers and farmers. Today, the top 4 control more than 80%." << This means: Less choice, more monopoly. You have MUCH less say in where your meat comes from.
*"In 1970 there were thousands of slaughterhouses producing the majority of the beef sold, Today there are only 13."
*"In 1998 the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and E. coli 0157h8 so that if a plant repeatedly failed these tests, the USDA could shut down the plant. After being taken to court by the meat and poultry associations, the USDA no longer has that power."
<< This means: If a company sends of 5 mass productions of meat that are contaminated with E. coli, guess what? Nothing can legally be done. And when you consider the above fact, that there are only a few major meat companies, the odds of you selecting a meat package containing E. coli is 1 in 4 - like those odds?
*"In 1972 the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006, the FDA conducted only 9,164" << This means: Not only are we processing more food chemically and genetically than ever, but we are being even more careless about it.
*"During the Bush administration, the head of the FDA was the former executive VP of the National Food Processors Association." << This means: Think about it. The head of the food and drug administration - the very people responsible for making sure that our food is healthy and good for us, and keeping the processing procedures are following the right guidelines - are now same people who were pushing those limits before - who are more interested in making a profit. How can this work?
*"During the Bush administration, the chief of staff at the USDA was the former chief lobbyist for the beef industry in Washington."
*"Prior to renaming itself an agribusiness company, Monsanto was a chemical company that produced, among other things, DDT and Agent Orange." << This means: You are eating food that survived being sprayed with a chemical that was produced by a company that used to produce Agent Orange - which is now illegal.
*"In 1996 when it introduced Round-Up Ready Soybeans, Monsanto controlled only 2% the U.S. Soybean market. Now over 90% of soybeans in the U.S. contain Monsanto's patented gene."
*"Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas was an attorney at Monsanto from 1976 to 1978. After his appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Thomas wrote the majority opinion in a case that helped Monsanto enforce its seed patents." << This means: Another instance like the above.
*"The average chicken farmer invests over $500,000 and makes only $18,000 a year" << This means: Chicken farmers are in debt from the get-go, and stay in debt with food, tool and system upgrades, and so they cannot fight against these mass producers no matter if they want to or not, they must comply.
*"32,000 hogs a day are killed in Smithfield Hog Processing Plant in Tar Heel, NC, which is the largest slaughterhouse in the world."
*"The average American eats over 200 lbs. of meat a year"
*"30% of the land in the U.S. is used for planting corn"
*"The modern supermarket now has, on average, 47,000 products - the majority of which is being produced by only a small handful of food companies "
*"70% of processed foods have some genetically modified ingredient. "
*"SB63 Consumer Right to Know measure requiring all food derived from cloned animals to be labeled as such passed the California state legislature before being vetoed in 2007 by Governor Schwarzenegger, who said that he couldn’t sign a bill that pre-empted federal law." << This means: the government does not think you have a right to know if your food has been genetically altered, cloned, or enhanced.
*"Corn products include: ketchup, cheese, Twinkies, batteries, peanut butter, Cheez-Its, salad dressings, Coke, jelly, Sweet & Low, syrup, juice, Kool-Aid, charcoal, diapers, Motrin, meat and fast food." << This means: There are ingredients in diapers and batteries that are in your food!
*"Corn, which is the main ingredient in animal feed, is also used as a food additive. Those products commonly include: Cellulose, Xylitol, Maltodextrin, Ethylene, Gluten, Fibersol-2, Citrus Cloud Emulsion, Inosita Fructose, Calcium Stearate, Saccharin, Sucrose, Sorbital, High Fructose, Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Di-glycerides, Semolina, Sorbic Acid, Alpha Tocopherol, Ethyl Lactate, Polydextrose, Xantham Gum, White Vinegar, Ethel Acetate, Fumaric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Baking Powder, Zein, Vanilla Extract, Margarine, and Starch."
*"1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes; Among minorities, the rate will be 1 in 2. "
*"E. coli and Salmonella outbreaks have become more frequent in America whether it be from spinach or jalapenos. In 2007, there were 73,000 people sickened from the E. coli virus. "*
*"Organics is the fastest growing food segment, increasing 20% annually."
Although not listed on their facts page, Food Inc. reveals in their documentary that Beef Products Inc. (BPI) - One of the 4 major beef packing companies - injects their meat with Ammonia to "reduce" E. coli and salmonella outbreaks. "The USDA thought the ammonia injection solution was so effective that it exempted Beef Products from inspections of hamburger meat in 2007" - Remember now what I said earlier, *"During the Bush administration, the chief of staff at the USDA was the former chief lobbyist for the beef industry in Washington." Hmm. And this is the meat that they are sending to McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, schools, etc. Next time you bite into your Big Mac, think about it.
* All facts marked and quoted were pulled directly from http://www.foodincmovie.com/img/downloads/Press_Materials.pdf
To learn more about Food Inc. go to http://www.foodincmovie.com/ and to find out how you can get involved visit http://www.foodincmovie.com/get-involved.php
A few weeks ago I made a meal using organic french onion soup, and I was advised to make sure I knew exactly what was in the soup because sometimes there were some little hidden ingredients that we don't need or want. So this time, I made my own! I'm going to be using it for the classic french onion soup dish some night this week for dinner, and I'm also going to use it for my grandma's french onion roast tomorrow night (I "splurged" on a grass fed chuck roast) - two birds, one stone =) I thought you might enjoy this recipe, its so easy! You pretty much spend about 20 minutes on it in the beginning and then let it do its thing the rest of the time. 
