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Madison Fries

Professor Wylie

Health 1020

July 27, 2018

Too Much Mass

Mass production that is being ran by only few of the same companies help produce and

slaughter cows, pigs, and chickens for populations. Corn is the most lucrative plant, because of

what can be made of out it and can be fed to cattle. These huge companies aim to find ways to

make things cost less, but also want everything to grow at a shorter time and be much bigger.

These companies have managed to control the way “farmers” raise their farms and to owe more

money than they make. In this essay, I will be discussing about mass production and highlighted

topics on the meat industry, corn production, and the risk factors.

For this essay, I chose to watch the documentary Food Inc. directed by Robert Kenner.

The reason why I chose this documentary, was for myself to help me be more aware of mass

production of foods. In this film, it discusses how many people do not pay attention towards

where their foods come from. You walk into a grocery store thinking all the produce and

products come from separate companies or many different companies, like I did, but they are all

controlled from the same three or four companies at most.

Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein, and Kim Roberts are the authors of this documentary,

Food Inc. Robert Kenner’s nutritional background is that he is just a filmmaker that wants to find

information that no one has thought about looking for. He discussed that he was not wanting to

film this documentary because of what he was going to see. In the interview with Westword,
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they asked if his diet has changed and he said, “On an eating level, I really try to go to the

farmer’s market. Buy from local farmers, and I try to eat less processed food”.

Elise Pearlstein was inspired by Robert Kenner and his book, Fast Food Nation. With her

interview from Mind Body Green, Elise said that ever since the documentary Elise has stopped

supporting fast food chains and big grocery stores. Elise is one hundred percent vegetarian and

she only shops at local farmers markets and Trader Joe’s because she knows where her produce

comes from.

This documentary was released June 12, 2009. Even though this film was produced ten

years ago, I do believe this documentary still affects the way we see food. Before watching this

film, I did believe that everything came from actual farms rather than factories. I did not know

about the living conditions on which animals are put in, the way food is being priced, and how

these companies are controlling all our foods. A lot of American’s believe if they do not see it

then they do not believe it and bring a new insight of how it is for animals. If more people were

more concerned for where their foods come from and see what it takes for it to get to their tables

and the risks they may face, people may not want to eat much fast food or meat.

The firs topic I want to discuss are the factories that control most of the mass production

of our meats, produce, and corn. In 1970, the five companies that controlled only 25% of the

market were John Morrell, Swift, MBP XL, IBP, and Armour. Currently, the top four are Tyson,

Swift, Cargill and National Beef. These four companies control 80% of the market. “Farm

Fresh”, is not really a red barn with animals grazing and being put in the best care like we all

imagine it to be. When we see these labels stating it is “Farm Fresh” it is just a factory of one of

the four companies talked about.

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Tyson is one of the biggest meat companies ever in history. They learned how to make

chickens grow faster, cheaper, and bigger than ever before. In 1950, it took 70 days for a chicken

to be full-sized, but the weight of the chickens was not thick enough. By 2008, a full-sized

chicken is grown in 48 days and is twice the size compared to the chickens in 1950. The whole

purpose of this is because a lot of people like to eat white meat, so this company redesigned

larger breasts sizes of chickens.

The second topic I want to discuss is the farmers that work in these industries. In this

documentary it was difficult for them to find an actual farmer that wanted to show around the

living conditions of the chickens, because of the company’s threats. Farmers are in debt to the

companies because it costs around $200,000 to $300,000 for each building for these chickens.

Also, they need to keep up with equipment that the company needs out of their own pockets. An

average farmer that works for these industries only make $18,000 a year.

Also, these companies target illegal immigrants or undocumented workers to work for

them. A reason for this may be because if they are illegal they will not speak up about the cruelty

they see or must do and that way they do not have to worry about their secrets getting out about

the living conditions of their animals. A lot of people who work for these companies are not

being paid reasonably, owe debts to the companies, and are having to hide secrets for the

companies.

The last topic I want to discuss is corn. Corn is in everything we eat and drink because

corn is the cheapest plant to produce. Corn is the largest crop growing in America and is easy to

grow. You can find most corn in fast food, sugary drinks, and other junk food. Corn is also used

to feed cows, because corn makes cows fatter. Biologically, cows do not eat corn and when

forcing cows to eat corn it causes them to have E-coli. Which can be easily spread to other cows
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in the factory. Adding to this, most companies do not regularly test for their cattle to see if they

have E-coli before they put their meats onto shelves in grocery stores. Whenever you eat meat,

you are at risk for having E-coli.

What I learned about nutrition from this assignment is that people and including myself

need to do be more self-conscious about the things we put into our bodies. Just because it looks

clean, does not mean it is clean. Supporting farmers markets insure you that foods are local and

that they are not putting their animals through the same type of torture as they would be in the

factories. Mass production is caused by how often people need on foods and one of the biggest

ones are from fast foods restaurants like McDonalds. Eating less meat or eating less out can

significantly help mass production and slaughtering more animals. This documentary reminded

me about why I chose to go vegetarian and that going to fast food restaurants is just supporting

mass production and getting me more fat.

Seeing animals being killed over our own selfish ways has made me reflect on things I

have done without thinking of the outcome just because I do not see it. A lot of us do not realize

how much murder, use of fossil fuels, and abuse goes to the workers just to make meat. The

outcome just to make people happy does not seem worth it in the long run. The ideas moving

forward for my life are that I am going to continue being vegetarian, speak up for the animals

they cannot speak, and find ways to use less diary and egg products in my diet.

In conclusion of Food Inc, mass production is being ran by four companies which are

Tyson, Swift, Cargill and National Beef. Corn is the cheapest, easiest, and most lucrative plants

because of what can be made of and can be fed to cattle. Companies aim for cheaper, bigger, and

better by controlling farmers and ways animals are raised.

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Works Cited

Nemkov, Tyler. “Q & A With Robert Kenner, Director of Food Inc.” Westword, 22 May 2016,

www.westword.com/restaurants/q-and-a-with-robert-kenner-director-of-food-inc-

5729762.

Wachob, Jason. “Q & A With Food, Inc: Our Chat with the Academy Award Nominated

Producer Elise Pearlstein.” Mindbodygreen, Mindbodygreen, 2 Feb. 2010,

www.mindbodygreen.com/0-305/Q-A-with-Food-Inc-Our-Chat-with-the-Academy-

Award-Nominated-Producer-Elise-Pearlstein.html.

Food Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Magnolia Pictures, 2009. Netflix. Web. 27 Jul. 2018