You Are What You Eat!

In today`s rushing society often it feels like we just do not have time for basic important things such as eating. Not to mention, if we do take a break to eat, healthy food is the last item on the list. Isn`t it easier to stop by at one of the drive thrus` of any fast food restaurant on the way home than spending an extra hour cooking something when you are already starving? Of course, it is easier but if you consider what that hamburger, french fries and soda do to your body and where the ingredients come from, you realize that the extra hour to cook is definitely worth it. Many people were unaware of what was unhealthy until the day the “Food Inc.” documentary came out. It opens our eyes so we can see that what once we thought might be healthy is rather making us sick. The documentary points out the main goal of the food industry: more, bigger and faster. Companies speed up the growth of fruits and vegetables as well as the growth of animals. There is no surprise there, as the faster they can sell them, the faster the money is coming in. Unfortunately, processed and conventional foods are the ones that are cheaper in the supermarket, which encourages consumers to buy them over organic items. For most people it does not make a difference whether they buy organic or conventional food, however, there is a big difference. Look at these pictures and you can see that the difference is obvious even by how they look. The left item is organic and the right item is non-organic.

“Food Inc.” showed us facts that may change the way we eat our dinner tonight. In 2006 the FDA conducted only 9,164 food safety inspections as opposed to 50,000 in 1972. The power of the FDA has decreased but then who is making sure that the food we have on our plates is healthy? Another interesting thing was that approximately 32,000 hogs a day are killed in Smithfield Hog Processing Plant in Tar Heel, N.C, the largest slaughterhouse in the world. I understand that there are 330 million people in the U.S. and an average American eats 200 lbs. meat a year, however, imagine the food they feed those hogs in order to grow so fast and even reproduce before they get killed! The documentary was made in order to uncover the truth these food companies have been hiding so consumers may be more aware of what they eat. Food is supposed to give us energy and keep us healthy. However, we have to eat right. Organic food might cost more than a hamburger but medication for diabetes and other health issues will cost even more. Spending more money on healthy eating is an investment for a long healthy life.