How Did We Let This Happen?: The Disturbing Truth About Food Production In America

(Otero)

I chose Chapter 2: Problems of Well-Being so I could focus on food production. I want to include some information on not only meat production and "factory farming" but some information on food additives and GMO's. I feel very passionately that everyone has the right to know what they are eating. When companies hide things from us that would alter our choices, I wonder how this happened. Americans have blindly trusted food companies for years because we thought we were safe and now we are starting to realize that no one is looking out for the interest of the consumer. In 2011, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service recalled nearly 4 million pounds of food. That is a shocking amount to accidentally slip through a generally "safe" system of food production. It makes you wonder how that many mistakes could have been made doesn't it?

So why is this happening? What aspect of our current system of food production is supporting this lack of safety? Research shows that "factory farms" have a pretty big negative impact on the health and safety of our food. The term "factory farms" refers to the mass production of animal products. Many of these "farms" look to maximize their profits by squeezing animals into cramped, unhealthy and unsanitary living conditions. This creates a myriad of health problem for the animals requiring the use of hormones and antibiotics just to keep the animals alive. The food given to these animals is second rate and not meant to support long term health but to keep animals alive and get them fat quickly. Sometimes their feed even includes other dead animals. I'm sorry, but I have taken elementary school science classes and I know that cows and chickens don't eat cows and chickens.

The spoof, "The Meatrix" exposes some of the disturbing secrets about factory farms. 

Meat seems like a pretty dangerous thing to eat after watching that video right? Well you could always become a vegetarian. That should keep you safe from the harmful effects of modern food production right? Well not according to this NBC news story that alerts us to recalled peanut and almond butter due to Salmonella contamination.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Peanut-Almond-Butter-Salmonella-Recall-Sunland-Inc-FDA-Boots-and-Barley-Bully-Stick-171080531.html

Furthermore, even the food that is deemed safe is full of all kinds of chemicals to make it taste better. look better, last longer or provide some kind of nutrient it doesn't naturally have. Some of the additives have been shown to cause hormone disruption and cancer in lab animals. Here is an article that talks a little bit more about the effects of food additives.
http://ezproxy1.nic.edu:2199/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&hid=108&sid=1d30b0f6-d3cc-4fb8-94a1-7cdef74e8240%40sessionmgr104

So we see the problem pretty clearly. What can we do know? Americans vote with their wallets first. If people refuse to buy factory farmed meat and nasty food additives then companies will be forced to sell something new. Vote with your dollars and support local farming. Eat organic animal products or try out vegetarianism. Pay attention to what is in your food and read labels. The more informed we are as a society, the harder it is to hide the truth from us

“The factory farm has succeeded by divorcing people from their food, eliminating farmers, and ruling agriculture by corporate fiat.” 
― Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals
Visit Slow Food International to learn about more ways to eat mindfully
http://www.slowfood.com/

As an adult member of society I have many of the same experiences as everyone else. I have seen the beautiful aspects of people and culture and I have seen the ugly. I have seen the effects of living the way we do, at lightening speed with a convenience mentality. I have seen people's selfishness and sense of entitlement and their thirst for release and gratification in a society where our demands are many and the payoff to our work is often abstract or irrelevant. I believe studying social issues fulfills our responsibility as citizens to understand the world around us. If we are to make any impact at all, we must first understand what is going on. Studying sociology helps me find my place in the world and helps me identify what I can do to work towards changing the ugly around us. When the Buddha stepped outside his palace and saw the suffering that was hidden from him, he was called to action. We have a choice as autonomous creatures; we can live comfortably in our palace of ignorance, or we can face the suffering of the world and answer the call. We can answer the calls of the sick and the poor, the starving and the addicted, the victims and those without hope. There is no doubt that people of the world are suffering. It is our choice to answer their calls. By studying the problems facing the world, we can do this.

“It is not enough to be compassionate – you must act.”- His Holiness The Dalai Lama