A Call to Arms

Last week, I finally watched "Food, Inc." When I cracked open my Netflix, I had no idea that this movie would very literally change my life.

Food, Inc. opened my eyes to the horror show that is our commercial food industry. Consider these facts:

• 70 percent of our food is genetically modified, yet there are no regulations requiring genetically modified foods to be labeled.
• Four multinational companies control meat production in our country. The conditions our cows, pigs and chickens are raised in is horrific. I won't mention the conditions workers are subject to.
• We're breeding "super" chickens, using a mix of antibiotics and steroids. What once took 90 days to grow, can now be accomplished in 40 days. What that means for the average consumer is that they are eating meat that is pumped full of antibiotics. That's not good for you.
• Cows are being fed corn, which is not part of their normal diet. Cows that are fed corn tend to have higher levels of e coli in their stomachs. Grass fed beef is a better choice, as its a part of a cow's natural diet.
• A company is proudly marketing a safer meat that is treated with ammonia. Ammonia.
  

Before watching Food, Inc., I thought I was doing a lot of things right. I have two raised beds that are growing tomatoes, peppers, onions and rhubarb. I have pots of basil, oregano and parsley. I am part of a community share at Tait Farms, a local organic farm. I supplement my garden and my share by purchasing fruits and sweet corn at Harner Farms, another local farm.

What I realized after watching this movie is that there is so much more that I need to be doing. I am resistant to a lot of antibiotics, as a result of a nasty bout with tonsilitis in college and too many cases of sinusitis to count. As a result, I try to take antibiotics only in a worst case scenario. Little did I know that I'm consuming meat with antibiotics in it every time I purchase meat from the grocery store.

I'm allergic to wheat, which means that I consume a lot of corn. Corn can be genetically modified, though I would never know, since there are no labeling requirements. That's scary.

In the last week, I've started educating myself about how to make better food choices and about how I can help affect positive change to educate others about the dangers in our food industry. I've reached out to friends with knowledge of the food industry to ask for help in finding the right resources; I downloaded an app to my iphone that helps me figure out which foods in the grocery store are from genetically modified sources; and I've compiled a reading list of foodie books to help me learn all I can about the food industry, the slow foods movement and genetically modified foods. First up on my reading list is "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" which has inspired me to try to overhaul my diet to eat only items that are in season. This will be more difficult as the seasons change, since State College doesn't have the nicest climate.