Extra Credit-Food Inc Film

I found the film Food Inc. to be a very interesting documentary about corporate farming in the United States. It shows the way things are produced and how unhealthy it can be to the people that are eating these products. This documentary also takes a look into how these businesses can be harmful and abusive to their employees and the environment.
1. I think Richard Lobb of the Nation Chicken Council statement means that we are doing everything we can to these chickens in order for them to taste good and it doesn’t matter if what we are doing can make our food less authentic.
2. I think that it could be a problem having corn and soybeans in 90 percent of our foods because if all our foods only contain that with little of other nutrients it can possibly effect our health by not getting a variety of other ingredients in our diets.
3. I agree with Eduardo Pena’s statement because I feel in our society today people want to get the bang for their buck. That is why people will either buy things in bulk for cheap or get something less healthy because it cost a dollar. Places like McDonalds are perfect examples of this. It may be unhealthy, but the fact you can get it quick and it is cheap attracts people to it.  Also in our society when you go to the grocery store even if you were trying to eat healthy it is hard to because most of the food that is good for you is so expensive.
4. It is not a good thing that the price is the most important force behind our food industry. It seems these industries care more about making money than allowing people to eat healthy. If you want to have a healthy diet you have to be willing to spend the money because healthy foods are expensive, while foods that are bad for you aren’t.  If our food system was to change and started to be driven by other values like peoples health, I think our nation would benefit enormously from it.
5. It is not right for a tradition that has been a part of your family for a long time to be just taken away. I can’t imagine that happening. Something that you have become accustom to just being legally claimed and taken from you and your family.
6. I agree with Michael Pollan’s position that consumers deserve to know what is in the foods that they are eating. Consumers have the right to know what they are putting into their bodies on an everyday basis. It isn’t right to try and hide these things from the people it can affect.
7. I think this film briefly discusses these issues that people are having to face in our society, but it doesn’t seem to go to deep into them.
8. I enjoyed “Film Inc” and felt that it gave be a better perspective on what is going on with the corporations that produce our foods. It was pretty shocking to see how little care they put into people having healthy diets.

This is a clip from Food Inc that really caught my attention. They show the chicken coops and the conditions and it is just really shocking to see.

High Power

This was a song that caught my attention when hearing it for the first time. It discusses certain issues that have been going on in the world and is about fighting the system (high power) and not letting it keep you down.

Blog Prompt 7: Trace Food Origin (Bananas)

Bananas these days are Americans favorite fruit, which means they are in very high demand. There is not a supermarket you can go to that does not have bundles of bananas piled up. The question is where are these bananas being produced? Bananas are native to tropical South and Southeast Asia and are now being grown in over 107 countries. Most however, are being harvested in places in Central America. Places such as Costa Rica have large banana plantations with many workers that are working all day to pick bananas in order to ship over to the United States. The conditions of these field workers are hidden from the consumers of this product because they don’t want you to second guess buying their product when at the super market.

In order to get our bananas into stores, workers have to work long days in harsh conditions picking them for very little pay. They sometimes have to risk being exposed to such things as pesticide chemicals that can be very harmful if not wearing the right equipment. These chemicals can potentially be detrimental to the environment and also to the people that have to work around them. Bananas are now being mass produced since the demand for them is raising and this causes the plantation owners to find more cheap labor that will then be exposed to harmful chemicals that can cause diseases such as cancer. The workers in these third world countries already don’t have a lot of money, so they are forced to endure these hard working conditions on these plantations so they are able to feed their families.  

The exploitation of workers and harsh conditions they have to go through in order to get us our bananas goes unseen by our society. It is hidden because the people that are making millions off this industry don’t want you to know what it takes in order to get you this fruit that you demand. This is something that Patel discusses when talking about major corporations hiding the truth from you and trying to keep this information out of your hands so they can go on with business as usual and stay under the radar. 


Another thing I found out was that bananas are artificially ripened in certain rooms full of ethylene gas that helps them to turn from green to yellow. By doing this it can cause people to be exposed to chemicals that can be harmful. I did not know any of this until taking the time to look it up and I think this goes back to Patel’s point about the consumers not knowing anything about the foods that are given to us to eat. Consumers are in the dark on where their favorite foods come from and what has been done in order to get them to you. By understanding the origins of where your foods come from, it helps to bring awareness to consumers of the issues surrounding it.                                                                                          

                                                                                                      

Blog Prompt 6: Shopping and Marketing

Shopping and Marketing

I visited the local grocery store Wal-Mart and for the first time actually paid attention to the placements of products in it and the items that they want you to see first.  It was pretty funny to see the ways they market certain items to the consumers they think they are going to get. Since Pullman is a college town, it was pretty obvious the first thing I saw when I walked in was Busch Light. This beer is probably one of the most popular kinds in this area because it is cheap and you can buy it in bulk. Wal-Mart had 30 packs of it stacked up in a pyramid with a sale price of 17.99 on it. This attracts college students right away because not only is it cheap, but you also get a lot of it. The store knows that by placing it at the entrance they are more likely to get you to buy it because it is the first thing when you walk in and they know that the typical college student drinks. Wal-Mart also puts that item with a sign on top saying “Sale” because it makes you even more likely to buy it knowing that if you don’t the price could be raised the next time around. The supply and demand for a product like Busch Light is very high due to the cost of it, and stores know this so they make sure they are stocked up on it.

When walking through the store I also noticed that the majority of items that were name brands were at eye level. Name brands tend to be more expensive, but at the same time you are very familiar with these certain brands and will pay the extra money not wanting to take the chance on something that is unknown. I think these grocery stores take this into account when stocking their shelves and make sure you are able to see these items, by putting them higher up. One thing that I have noticed many times is that when you are checking out they purposely put the smaller items like gum and candy on the right and left of you, hoping you will make that last second purchase. The candy shelves seem to be about waste level, which targets people that are smaller such as kids. This is another thing these grocery stores know to do in order to make more sales. Stores do the research in order to get to know the consumers that will be coming in on an everyday basis and make sure to put the products out that they demand.

Grocery stores take the products they know their consumers like and put them in certain areas of the store that make you more likely to see them and purchase them.  This is all a well thought out scheme to target your needs and put that item in front of you. All the products that the stores consumers want are visible and geographically placed where you are most likely to look.  This is nothing new; stores have been doing this for a long time now and it has been a very successful plan to attract consumers.