HW 10

Our food system is dominated by industrialized plants. The plants are filthy and contain many harmful bacteria. The animals are treated as objects rather than a life. They are fed corn, due to the fact corn is subsidized and therefore cheap to use in feeder for the animals. Although there have been many problems with meat packing plants and big food corporations in the past they don't change they way they go about the business they simple find a simple cover up that is many times even more unhealthy; It's like trying to fix a broken leg with a band-aid, just because you put a band-aid on it, it doesn't change the fact it's broken. There are however organic farms such as the farm of Joel Salatin; Mr. Salatins farm is completely organic. The animals are given space to move around rather than being cramped up and living in their own shit. The animals also do all the work for the farm and they are all grass fed. The animals are also slaughtered in the most humane way possible.

The movie offers a visual of the actual plants which has a much more significant affect than the book does. It shows what actually goes on in industrial plants and on organic farms. The movie also offers much more insight in to the life of a farmer and how they are exploited. Fast food nation on the other hand did a much better job of showing the system in which the actual fast food companies and the meat packing plants support each other and work together. It such the choke-hold the two industries have on the diet of many americans. The movie also shows a very adequate alternative to the industrial/ fast food way of life; this being Joel Salatin's farm. Salatin also provides a very philosophical explanition for why things are the way they are. It truly shows the difference of mentality from the organic farmers and the industrial plants. It can be simply put as the industrial farmers treat all relationships(food, animals, workers) as I-it relationships. Meaning the use the latter for their personal benefit and exploit the latter in as many ways as possible to maximize their profits. Where as organic farmers have a more I-thou view in their relationship with the animals and workers. The animals are treated humanely as are the workers. They value life rather than viewing at as simply a means for profit. This was Salatin's conclusion which was one of the best ideas in the entire film. The fact that an organic farmer that they interviewed came up with one of the best insights in the film says a great deal about the difference in the two options.

95 percent of this film was very good. It showed what the problems are that are arising from the exploitation done by the industrial meat packing industry, and coruption in the political side of the food industry(USDA, etc.) and what alternatives there are, as well as the cause of the problems. The movie shows the true nature of the owners of these companies and how little regard they have for life in general. However the ending of the film, in my opinion, ruined it. It provided the most naive solution possible. It made it seems as though a change was so simple and the answer to all our problems was so simple. It spent the film giving information to make the average ignorant american much less ignorant but then in the end gave such a simplistic, ignorant, and naive alternative that it was not as effective as it could have been. Rather than go back in to an ignorant way of thinking it could have provided a realistic insight in to what we can do about the problems we face and rather than having people informed about the problems but still stupid in what the solutions should be. It could have made the people think about actual solutions because the fact of the matter is, there is no one simple solution.