My Thoughts on "Food, Inc."

I've been anxious to watch the documentary, "Food, Inc." for several weeks. I didn't know what I was in for, but I was interested to see the movie that claims to "lift the veil" from the food industry.

I already consider myself a fairly conscious eater. We don't eat many processed foods, I prefer all natural ingredients and eat as many fresh, whole foods as possible. I rarely buy canned goods, I cook mostly from scratch and I avoid using my microwave. Some think I'm extreme, others think I'm not strict enough. But I've been very comfortable where we are and was not ready to be any more of a food Nazi than I already am.

Then I heard about Food, Inc. on the Oscars. (click on the link to watch the trailer) Then from a friend. Then another and another. Everyone began making major changes to how they purchase food immediately after watching it. One friend became a vegetarian. I was interested to see what all of the fuss was about, but to be honest, I decided to eat most of our food stash just in case I was tempted to throw away hundreds of dollars in groceries!

I wasn't sure what to expect. Was it a documentary put together by environmentalists? Vegans? Animal rights activists? Extremists who eat everything raw? Because I'm none of those things. Maybe I should be, but I'm not. I like animals, but I'm fine eating them. (that sounded weird, but you know what I mean) I like the environment, but I have no problem using my dryer or taking a long shower. (I am a little fanatical about recycling and using reusable grocery bags, so I guess I'm not completely wasteful.)

So I finally watched it. I am appauled and shocked by what I saw, but not for the reasons that I expected. I had to turn away while watching a few of the animal scenes, but what resonated with me most was one small concept from the film: When we make a food purchase, we're voting with our dollars. Organic food could be cheaper if more people purchased it. It's the basic law of supply and demand.

One of the issues that was brought up in the film actually began for me last week. Mike and I had a date night and planned to eat dinner at Chipotle. (Which, BTW, I found out is ironically owned by McDonalds. But I will continue eating there because their meat is naturally raised and it is a healthy option for eating out...not to mention delicious and cheap!) Before leaving the house, Mike ran across a buy one, get one free coupon for a local Mexican place, so we tried it. The meal was great, so Mike asked the manager if they have any other locations. "Nope - this is the only one!" God bless that poor little place in this economy. I left there feeling so glad that we gave them our business. And I was suddenly burdened to give all smaller companies my business.

Does anyone remember a few years ago when so many small towns boycotted building Walmarts because it took business away from the family owned stores? I remember thinking, "But Walmart has everything. For cheap! Why wouldn't people want that???"

Now I get it.

The executives of Walmart are rolling in dough while smaller businesses permanently close their doors day after day.

Granted, Food, Inc. was fairly "pro-Walmart," but the concepts of the big guys bullying the little guys was a huge issue in the movie. Specifically Tyson...their executives are rolling in dough while the local chicken farms that they contract with make $18,000 a year. It was so sad. Disheartening, really.

Here are my biggest takeaways from the movie: buy local, buy seasonally and buy organic. I plan to reduce the amount of meat we eat so that I can buy better quality and I'm going to check to see what's seasonal before assuming that just because the grocery store carries something, it was ripened properly and not shipped half way across the world.

And as frugal as I am, I fully intend to begin paying a little more to support smaller businesses and farmers markets. I haven't given the quality of their food much attention, until now. Yes, I will continue to shop at Walmart, but on a much more limited basis. I will make most of my food purchases from my produce co-op, Trader Joe's (it makes me happy just walking in there!) and Sprouts.

I hate that we, as consumers, are shielded from so much. We only know what the media wants us to know. And that makes me feel like an ignorant sheep.