Food Inc. Follow Up

Last week when we watched Food Inc. in class I found myself dealing with a stomach  in knots, and clearly I wasn't alone. Last Wednesday while walking out of class a classmate I had never spoken to before was so effected by the message of the documentary he started talking to me about it like we met at the water cooler on a regular basis. I admit to being in a hurry and am guilty of not taking the time to learn my distraught classmate's name, but what I felt when the viewing was all said and done was quite different, apathy. 

I felt apathetic after watching the documentary. The fix is in. The FDA isn't doing anything about the problem, and the federal government, which I would argue should keep us safe from our food, is subsidizing many of the practices that put consumers at risk. I walked out of Friday's viewing feeling so powerless to do anything about the system that I actually ate a McDouble value meal that afternoon. 

I realized the irony behind my dietary decision, but I didn't rethink it until today (Wednesday) when I saw a report on CNN that stated   "the number of Americans falling ill or dying from contaminated food has increased 44% in the past two years alone, according to a report released Wednesday."

The report continues to report that appox. 48 million people get sick from tainted food each year, and despite President Obama signing legislation that gives The FDA more power to keep citizens safe, the majority of the law hasn't been implemented yet, and congress has plans to cut funding to The FDA.

This reality is frightening, and honestly, I am not sure how much I can do other than have common sense when it comes to protecting myself from food borne illness on a limited budget.