Thoughts after watching a food documentary

[dosekies]

I just started watching Food, Inc. and it is horrible (in an eye opening way) so far! Has anyone else watched documentaries like this and ended up changing the way they eat because of it?

 

[low-key]

ohh I so know what you mean, I watched one on all these mics and rats getting in the peanut butter, and how there allowed so many chopped on ones, I stopped with the p butter for 3-4 days, it was tough but I did it

 

[katie01]

ohh I so know what you mean, I watched one on all these mics and rats getting in the peanut butter, and how there allowed so many chopped on ones, I stopped with the p butter for 3-4 days, it was tough but I did it

Ha! That sounds like me, I watch shows like that and get all inspired to eat only healthy, organic, or whatever, and then only last a short time with it. So now I know better and just don't watch those kinds of shows anymore.

I do my best to eat "whole" foods whenever possible. But I'm far from perfect on only eating the right things

 

[adisneyaunt]

I avoid those shows. I try to buy fresh foods typically anyway. And if you ve ever been to a food processing place... you may not want to eat...

 

[amberpi]

Yeah. My mom has a decent sized farm - several hundred acres, much bigger before my grands passed, and they had dairy cattle. All these people drinking non-treated, non pastuerized milk don't get it. And this was a local, organic, conservation award winning farm. It was still gross as hell. Cows are in general. Don't drink raw milk folks.

Reminds me of god only knows how many more beans I've got to break tomorrow.

 

[amberpi]

Your best bet for produce is the local farmer's market, same with the butcher, etc. If you care about such. You don't have to.

 

[MIGrandma]

I've seen snippets, enough to know I don't want to watch the entire show (s) like that, ha ha!

I'm Type 2 diabetic so try very hard to eat healthy for the most part, to keep my A1C test in line and so far so good. I love fresh fruits and vegetables and do eat a lot of them, but still eat too much pasta and bread. I bread. Very hard to give that up, even though I know it isn't good for me. I no longer eat very much red meat, or even meat in general. I just don't care that much for it anymore, and really don't know why. I'll occasionally eat a steak, but I'd rather have a plate of vegetables (and bread!) instead of meat. I love salads, with mixed greens and loaded with lots of fresh vegetables, a little bit of turkey and cheese, and fat free dressing. I do eat sweets occasionally, but try not to have too much. I don't bake as much as I used to, it's easier if I just don't have the cookies in the jar to tempt me.

Summer is such a wonderful time for all of the fresh fruits and vegetables, and I do enjoy going to farmer's markets. I'm waiting for the wonderful, ripe, Michigan tomatoes soon!!

 

[anniemae]

I have heard the documentary "Forks over Knives" will change the way you eat. I have not seen it though.

 

[Southernmiss]

one must be aware of who created the video and what is the agenda behind it.

 

[ronandannette]

one must be aware of who created the video and what is the agenda behind it.

Yes. I'm much more interested and influenced by the shows that focus on the politics of food production than the ones that just expose the "grossness" of farms and production facilities.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

I have heard the documentary "Knives over Forks" will change the way you eat. I have not seen it though.

My family watched Forks Over Knives after it came out and have never eaten animals in any capacity ever again. This is a documentary based on the studies of some of the top cardiologists and nutrition doctors in the US. We tried it for 3 weeks thinking if we really did feel that much better we'd stick to it. After 2 weeks we knew we had found our forever way of eating. No more dieting, no more feeling sluggish, no more eczema.

Sadly I watched Food, Inc and although I was disgusted and horrified, it didn't really change our eating habits.

 

[Marchand63]

ohh I so know what you mean, I watched one on all these mics and rats getting in the peanut butter, and how there allowed so many chopped on ones, I stopped with the p butter for 3-4 days, it was tough but I did it

Then really want to avoid hot dogs & bologna!!

 

[anniemae]

My family watched Forks Over Knives after it came out and have never eaten animals in any capacity ever again. This is a documentary based on the studies of some of the top cardiologists and nutrition doctors in the US. We tried it for 3 weeks thinking if we really did feel that much better we'd stick to it. After 2 weeks we knew we had found our forever way of eating. No more dieting, no more feeling sluggish, no more eczema.

Sadly I watched Food, Inc and although I was disgusted and horrified, it didn't really change our eating habits.

Yeah, my niece watched it 2 years ago and has not touched meat since.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

one must be aware of who created the video and what is the agenda behind it.

Exactly.

Especially when you find out how much money some of these people have made.

Or what data was tossed to prove their point. Hint: you can't just circular file data that doesn't prove your point. Forks over knives has that problem.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Has anyone else watched documentaries like this and ended up changing the way they eat because of it?

Nope

 

[Westcoastwild]

I haven't seen forks over knives. I don't think I want to know.

But I do think that half the problem with that kind of fear mongering is that a lot of viewers aren't educated in food or the food industry in America. I've met people who honestly think you can only get food borne illness from meat. Nope. Usually, if there's a scare at a local restaurant, the contamination is veggie related. Like someone mentioned up thread- pasteurization is good. Cows are nasty.

Food safety can be a problem in processing, sure, but I'd rather eat grocery store canned goods than home canned goods made by someone who doesn't know what they're doing. Botulism is real.


And then there's the fact that people really have no idea what is healthy and what isn't. Fruit juice for example. Doctors and dietitians really shouldn't need to tell parents that fruit juice is unnecessary sugar for young children. And yet that's the new thing that they've started educating the masses over.

I think people focus on the wrong things. America isn't obese and sick because of our processed food. We're obese because of our serving size and lack of activity. Junk food and processed food is in every country. But the only place you can get an American sized coffee or soda in Japan (for example) is in an American chain, namely mcd's or Starbucks. The drinks are so small here. That, I swear, has halved my daily calories right there. Europe is the same way. Couple that with the fact that if you take transit, you walk a lot more than the average American. I'm not saying that people elsewhere are healthier. There's more to health than bmi. But obesity is much less an issue.

 

[cmarsh31]

We watched Food, Inc, read Omnivore's Dilemma, and a number of other sources about 10 years ago. We do eat out, and do things in moderation, but strive for non-processed, local, and/or organic for our home. We buy our beef directly from a farm, our milk & eggs are delivered weekly from another local farm (yes, we have a milkbox & a milkman!), produce comes from the farmer's market and farm stands. My kids know the difference between a random strawberry in January and a strawberry from a local farm in June. We try to appreciate good food when it's good.

 

[MrsDuck]

I've seen Food Inc as well as Fork Over Knives. They really upset me - my heart hurts for animals. It usually changes the way I eat for a little while but I typically go back to eating meat, processed foods, etc. But, I certainly am more aware and try to make better choices.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Slightly different, but I was hugely disappointed in Supersize me. If you want to know the impact of that kind of food, you change only the food you eat and check the results. You don't force feed yourself when you're not hungry and deliberately avoid the regular exercise you get. Multiple variables screw up the experiment.

 

[MillauFr]

one must be aware of who created the video and what is the agenda behind it.

I can see why they went after the mega food companies though. Their focus of profits at the expense of animal welfare and food safety needs to be investigated. The budgets of the government organizations that should be overseeing them has been cut to the bone. Gee I wonder who had political influence over those decisions? The answer is more transparency. I wonder why some of the food companies don't install video cameras so the public can see what goes on in their plants.