Food Inc. - pgs. 3-64

Watching Food Inc. , the movie was an experience that left me more informed and horrified. There are two parts of the movie that I have in mind in making this statement.
First, I learned a lot about what the industry of organic products is doing in order to become mainstream. In the section of the film including Gary Hirshberg and his company Stonyfield, I learned how he was using the power of other companies, like Walmart, in order to make organic popular. I have never been a fan of Walmart, but what he said made serious sense. By having his products where people can choose to buy it, he can create the demand for more organic products. This "think big" idea is exactly what is needed. Then upon reading about him in the book version, I was captivated by his unrelenting will. It is almost like a fairy tale how Mr. Hirshberg was able to take a company like Stonyfield and bring it back from the dead (nearly). This kind of dedication leaves readers captivated. All American's know the concept of the American dream, but it is something different entirely to see it happen before your eyes and realize that hard work does and can pay off. This aspect of Food Inc. helps to establish that the topic of food production has hope, we are not banished away to live in a country that gives us no say in what we eat, we have the choice.
Second, I was absolutely horrified at the treatment of animals that is discussed in Food Inc. the movie and the book. In the movie, I found it so difficult to even look at the screen when the animals were being mistreated. I remember the segment where there was a cow that couldn't walk because of the conditions it had been made to live in. Because it couldn't walk, workers were kicking and shoving the cow, trying to get it to a conveyor belt so it could be slaughtered. These kind of images stay with a person. In the notes I was making for the film I wrote, "it is like the Holocaust, except we keep breeding them to be killed". The film has a definite advantage is this way over the book. By actually seeing these horrible acts, you can never pretend that they are not real. An advantage that the book had with this issue, is that it offered ways in which to become involved. There were websites one could visit and there were things everyday people can do to try and change this horrible problem.