Nutrition Perspectives

Anthony Phommavongsay

NUTR – 1020 – 511

I have chosen to watch a 2008 documentary by Robert Kenner called “Food Inc.”. Robert

Kenner did not have much nutritional background; he was just a filmmaker wanting to document

the food industry and with this document found out a lot about the production of the food the

people demand and buy.

Throughout the documentary it showed us the process of how the food we eat and buy

make it to the shelves in the stores, how higher demands changed the way farmers ran their

farms, and how big companies began getting involved and changing the food industry. I chose

this film because watching the trailer showed a little bit of what goes on in some of the factories,

and how some of the companies and such were trying to fight against certain labeling on the

food. Seeing that there were companies refusing and fighting on what kind of labeling they

needed to put on their product grabbed my attention and I have heard here and there of how bad

some of these factories are. Although at some factories/farm it was bad, it was also good to see

that there are still farmers out there who are still producing product in an organic way because

they feel that it is the healthier way and they care about what people are eating and putting into

their bodies.

I believe the themes in the documentary still apply today. There are still many people

fighting and trying to bring the attention to how some of these factories are not treating the

animals right, and that the way they run things are not hygienic, ethical, etc. In the film they

bring up how there were outbreaks of product being infected with e coli and things such as that.
After the film there have been reports of e coli outbreaks and recalls. From the past one of the

believed cause of e coli was because the irresponsible disposal of waste from some factories

where it most likely contaminated the fields and waters around the area.

It also continues to apply today because of the peoples demands, what they demand can

really affect the way production is and what major stores decide to put out for sale. The more

people demand for organic product, companies will see this and start looking for production in

organic product and start finding farmers and ranchers who have continued to keep things

organic. The companies that have been mass producing and using chemicals to increase the

growth rates may start leaning towards being organic and changing their ways and looking into

more farmers and ranchers, possibly offering them more money to buy land or even giving them

more land increasing the production of organic products. With this happening maybe the food we

eat could be a lot better for us, it was the high demand that caused companies to start using non-

organic methods. So really nothing has changed, companies will continue selling and producing

their products and using whatever methods necessary to meet the demands until more and more

people start demanding organic products.

When the documentary talks about the history of fast food and saying that when it first

came out there was a variety of things you could buy, but eventually they took some things out

limiting what people could order and made it so that it would be cheaper and quicker. This

changed the meat industry and they started to use whatever methods do keep up with the

demands. This caused the price of fast food to be cheap and quick. In the nutrition textbook it

talked about how environment and lifestyle can affect a person’s health. Fast food being in high

demand more and more places were popping up and because they could make their food so fast

in such large quantities it appealed to many people. It is just astonishing that somethings you can
feed your whole family for cheaper with fast food, where you can barely feed yourself when

buying fruits and vegetables.

I would also like to relate how in the book with would talk about certain labeling and

facts. In the beginning they did not really regulate that, so people did not know what they were

putting into their bodies, whether it was healthy or not. In the documentary, there were debates

on what companies needed to put on their product to let people know what were in it. I am glad

that now it tells us whether GMOs were used, or if they are organic. This really helps the

consumers start looking at what they are buying and maybe they start educating themselves on

what they are putting into their bodies and if they care how it is produced.

I really liked how one of the organic farmers talked about providing more nutrient dense

food to the people. And how another told us at the end that the people just need to demand more

organic, and healthier foods, and they will do what they can and that they will indeed meet the

demands and satisfy us. It was heartwarming to see that most of these farmers care about how

they did things and wanted to give people the best meat, fruits, vegetables, etc. I think that it is

very cool that these farmers have good knowledge of nutrition, it shows that they are passionate

with what they do and really care about how their product makes the consumer feel. I did not

know the meaning of nutrient dense before taking this class, so I would have been confused at

the part when he says that.

I learned that what you think you know about nutrition, like protein, fats, carbs, vitamins,

etc., it is not just that. How it was produced matters as well, whether it is organic or not. If there

were chemicals involved in the growth process. These things could affect how you feel as well,

you could get sick if your meat wasn’t handled well or if, there was one bad batch it could

contaminate another and could very well be the one you are eating.
 I did not think about how farmers were affected by some of the businesses. That some of

them had no choice to do what some companies wanted them to do even if they did not like the

method, and if they denied they could lose their job and more. Knowing this, I want to buy more

organic, or even locally. The demands of the people are really what will change the food industry

and could really help farmers. Also seeing some of the production plants and how they would

treat some of the animals and how they ran things made me not want to support that. They do not

care about anything else besides the money. But we also did not get to see their side since many

of them declined to do any interviews and would not allow filming inside some places, but this

just make them look bad.

 References
Smith, Anne M., Collen, Angela L., Spees, Colleen K. Wardlaw's Contemporary Nutrition: A
Functional Approach, 5th edition. McGraw-Hill, 2018

Kenner, Robert. Food Inc. 2009