Ready for Life

While we were busy enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and counting our blessings for food and health, we may have done a bad thing. We ended up renting and watching Food, Inc.

The movie is a bit of a documentary and expose on the food industry and the largely mechanized version of food growth, production, and delivery to consumers. Who controls the manufacture and quality? Not the FDA apparently, but for the moment, the food conglomerates. We are talking big business and some questionable practices. The moral of the story? There are some good guys out there and they will listen if we as a nation stand up and demand better quality food at better prices.

At fist, I was much saddened and disheartened by the movie. But, I now realize we will probably look back on this time in fifty years and scoff when people try and tell us how they ate. “Really? Food with little nutrional value and all those nasty trans, corn related, disease causing food substitutes? No wonder y’all needed healthcare!” Recognize any of same voices we now use when we look back on the tobacco industry? Granted, it still has room for improvement, but we know the risks and they are out in the open for tobacco and additives. We will hopefully one day soon understand the epidemic of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and even some cancers as related to food. For now, we speculate.

Recent efforts to eat better, live simply and be more conscious have made me realize it isn’t easy, but worth it.  I am glad we watched the movie. It was thought provoking, disheaertening and empowering at the same time. Here is to lifting the veil and taking the harder but long term road for health.