If you haven’t seen Food, Inc., you should.
The film powerfully brings together voices like Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser to give us a behind-the-scenes peek at the nation’s industrial food complex. (Or as behind-the-scenes as you can get when company after company refuses to comment.) No stone is left unturned, from seed to supermarket, as they say in the movie. Or, more disturbingly, from farmer to feedlot, lobbyist to lab.
If you’ve already read books along these lines, much of the content won’t be new. But it will still be as poignant. And it will still change your life in surprising ways, some big, some small. Much of my blog is devoted to the big ways it’s changed our family. This is about one of the small.
This weekend a friend came to dinner. It was Friday, on the heels of an ice-skating birthday party across town, and I knew our guest might arrive at the house before us. So that afternoon I made Sara Foster’s chunky minestrone (from Fresh Every Day) and spinach salad with dried cherries and toasted pecans. I set the table and bought the sourdough baguette.
But I didn’t buy the ice cream for dessert, as planned, because at the last minute I thought about industrial, non-organic dairies and how they treat their cows. I thought about all the corn derivatives that would likely be flavoring the ice cream. And I walked past the dessert aisle, knowing that I’d be in the kitchen an hour longer by doing so but feeling good about the choice because at least then I knew what I’d be feeding my family and guest.
How has the movie changed the way you think about food, big or small?
I don’t know that anything we do really changed, except that I did go to farmer’s markets more often after seeing Food Inc. in July of last year.
For us, it more reinforced a lot of what we already do.
But our 12-year-old became a vegetarian–for about 2 months afterwards!
I made it required viewing for our son when it came out on DVD. I really do think it’s a must-see for every American.
Hi. I am a friend of Denise D. and she told me about your blog. Very nice! The movie changed our lives completely. We are very conscious about where we buy our food now and want to know where it is coming from. We buy local and in season. We are regular at Whole Foods for most of our shopping. We love how the food source is clearly labeled. I was already on a pescadarian diet and the movie reinforced it.
Now for that dessert you skipped over. Buy some plain Greek-style yogurt. Toss it in a food processor with frozen berries. Add some honey if you want. The frozen berries freeze the yogurt. Instant (and healthy) frozen yogurt dessert! I make it for most dinner parties. Guests are most impressed. And it only takes seconds to make.
Thanks so much for the nice note — and for the yummy dessert idea. I still have raspberries and strawberries that we picked last summer in the freezer and am always looking for new ways to serve them! Have you thought about joining a farm share?