Monday, February 22, 2010

We are what we eat...

In response to watching the documentary "Food Inc." I am now fully aware of the potential hazards of being lured into purchases just because of convenience.

Prior to watching the film, I was well aware of large scale food production and the risks it involves. Investigative journalist Eric Schlosser narrates the film and the first moment I saw him I knew what we were in for. He's the author of "Fast Food Nation" a book that examines the local and global influence of the United States fast food industry. It was a required reading for my liberal arts classes from two summers ago. The premise of the book was to outline the history of fast food restaurants and its big impact on the way we look at food in America. In retrospective, us artists were to make sure we we're aware of the social responsibility that burdens us when Eric brings up the topic of companys like McDonalds deliberately targeting children in their marketing campaigns.

In addition to reading the book, I also rented the movie of the same name which is about a Don Anderson, the Marketing Director of a a hamburger chain called Mickey's, learns that there is considerable presence of fecal matter in the meat of the burger he advertises. He travels to the slaughterhouse that provides the hamburger chain and finds out that its guilty of sloppy production techniques.

After exposing myself to such materials, my personal perception and behavior of what I eat has changed dramatically a year ago. I have refrained from drinking soda entirely to only consuming water and have limited myself to eating fast food to one or two times a week. When purchasing groceries at the local supermarket, I look for whole wheat products and avoid any processed food that could potentially carry a genetically modified crop. I also attempt to make all my meals from scratch, avoiding the need of processed foods in striving for a healthier lifestyle.

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