Food Inc

If you have never seen the movie Food Inc, I recommend you do so. It is a documentary that brings you back in touch (or is a revelation if you had no idea) with the majority of the food supply chain. 

I came across some interesting facts about your food when viewing the Food Inc website. Some of these are listed below. Makes for interesting reading. (Note these facts relate to the US)

Growth of Factory Farming

In the 1970s, the top five beef packers controlled about 25% of the market. Today, the top four control more than 80% of the market.

Factory Farms Dominate

In the 1970s, there were thousands of slaughterhouses producing the majority of beef sold. Today there are only 13.

Monsanto in 1950

Prior to renaming itself an agribusiness company, Monsanto was a chemical company that produced, among other things, DDT and Agent Orange.

Lack of USDA Power

In 1998, the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and E. coli 0157h7 so that if a plant repeatedly failed these tests, the USDA could shut down the plant. After being taken to court by the meat and poultry associations, the USDA no longer has that power.

 

Monsanto’s Soybean Monopoly

In 1996 when Monsanto introduced Round-Up Ready Soybeans, the company controlled only 2% of the U.S. soybean market. Now, over 90% of soybeans in the U.S. contain Monsanto’s patented gene.

 

Minimal Food Inspections

In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006, the FDA conducted only 9,164.
The average chicken farmer (with two poultry houses) invests over $500,000 and makes only $18,000 a year.

 

Sewing Seeds of Discontentment

Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas was an attorney at Monsanto from 1976 to 1979. After his appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Thomas wrote the majority opinion in a case that helped Monsanto enforce its seed patents.

 

Illusion of Options

The modern supermarket stocks, on average, 47,000 products, most of which are being produced by only a handful of food companies.

 

Diabetes Rates on the Rise

According to the American Diabetes Association, 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes. Among minorities, the rate will be 1 in 2.

 

Foodborne Illness Becoming More Widespread

E. coli and salmonella outbreaks have become more frequent in America. In 2007, there were 73,000 people sickened by the E. coli bacteria.