Our Food

 Entry #7

Food

Have you ever wondered where the food you put in your mouth comes from? I never did until I watched the film Fresh, which is based on the food production industry (not the horror movie). This documentary focuses on sustainable agriculture and depicts farmers, activists, and entrepreneurs changing the American food system. As people who live in America and eat mass-produced food, we should wonder where our food comes from, if it harms us, animals, and the earth, and how we can help change the food system.

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The majority of the food we eat is mass-produced in factories and farms that use GMOs and is not of good quality, which can lead to health problems. One of our biggest concerns is whether it is healthy, but healthy, organic, and safe food costs much more than mass-produced food. When it comes to our food, most of the time, we only focus on whether it will fill us up and satisfy us, not if it will have any lingering health effects or if it is something that is causing animals to suffer. As it says in the film, "The only thing Americans are afraid of is inconvenience," the film makes you wonder whether the mass-produced food we eat is something we should eat and if we should go for something better and less "convenient."

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If you want to improve your health, doctors or health experts will first tell you to change your diet, eat healthier, cut out things that are harmful to your body, or eat your fruits and veggies. With that put into consideration, poor food choices and unsafe food are linked to a significant number of deaths and health problems. With 10.6% of all deaths in the United States, along with 600 million people who fall ill each year due to unsafe food. All things considered, the problem is not only in the US, but it is a global issue that causes many unnecessary deaths. If we watch what we put in our mouths and try things that are organic, non-GMO, and safe for our bodies, the US can keep more people from dying from obesity, cancers from harmful substances in our food, and other diseases that we get from mass-produced food.

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Another is how mass production harms the environment, workers, and animals. Whether you are an earth activist, an animal cruelty-free lover like me, or a person who supports small businesses and farmers, we can all agree on one thing: mass production is harmful. The earth suffers from pollution, deforestation, the need to make more room for food, and greenhouse gas emissions. This is killing our earth quickly, and not only is it harmful to the planet but the things living on it. 

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Animals are another thing that suffers from mass production as they are often kept in cramped, unsanitary conditions that lead to stress, disease, and suffering. Even if you do not think animals have feelings or it is not something you really care for, when thought about, it is very cruel to keep an animal locked up and incarcerated only to die and be eaten and not even help people to be healthy because of its living conditions. Even if you do not eat animals and are a veggie lover, vegetables are mass-produced and have many harmful substances and pesticides placed on them, as explained in the film. 

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Now, if either of those topics does not really bother you, I want you to think about the workers. As shown in the film, mass production can lead to worker exploitation and displacement for small farmers. Owning a farm and making an honest living is hard, let alone worrying about expenses to keep it up and running. Still, farmers must consider whether they will mass produce their crops and animals to keep their farms running. Due to mass production, the workers are also often overworked and commonly underpaid.

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Now that we know more about mass production, how can we help? We can start by supporting local farmers and buying organic healthy foods that are good for our bodies and the environment. The film I am discussing wants us as people to take action against harmful food, and all of the things discussed above are important and should be considered. Even though many people like it better, not knowing what goes into their mouths and bodies, many people do and deserve to know to help change this world. Will you help bring a change to this world?