Wellness Wednesdays: Do you know where your food comes from?
If you are a regular Oprah Show viewer, you may have seen the movie Food, Inc. discussed on an episode that aired last month. The episode showed a few parts of the movie and featured a discussion with director/producer Robert Kenner.
I was interested by the bits that I caught on the episode and proptly ordered the full documentary to watch. I have often been asked by family and friends why I go out of my way and pay more money to purchase much of my family’s food from local organic farms and local farms raising grass-fed, free range beef, chicken, and pork. This movie explains the issues with “factory raised” food better than I ever could – and with pictures. Disturbing pictures.
Without going through the entire film, a few things that not many people are aware of that were discussed in the film:
- Today’s chickens are so structurally different than the ones out grandparents ate, many of them cannot even walk. They have been “plumped” up to the point where their bones do not support their weight.
- Because fast food restaurants are the largest purchaser of beef, the meat is being raised to their specifications. This means even if you do not eat beef at fast food restaurants, if you purchase beef raised at one of their suppliers, you might as well be.