Food Inc and Sustainability

I recently viewed the film Food Inc, a documentary that explores the origin of many foods and industrialization of the food industry. It explores how the food industry’s focus on maximizing output instead of focusing on quality has led to foods that are less healthy and less safe, environmentally damaging farming practices, and the poor treatment of both workers and animals.
The film treads on material in relation to this class in its attention to sustainability. Corporate large-scale farms are juxtaposed with a small, local, pasture based farm in order to show their stark differences. The corporate farm system is based around producing as much food as possible at increasingly cheaper and faster rates. In order to produce as much meat as possible farmers overcrowd cattle and chicken into warehouses and small fenced in pens. Since the animals are in such close contact with one another and unable to graze, they often tread in their own feces, which makes for an optimal breeding ground for disease or bacteria. We the consumer then injest this meat along with any of the bacteria or infections it has gained in the process.
Cows on these farms are fed corn instead of grass because of its cheap cost, fattening effect, and the fact that these cows are not kept in areas where grass is growing from the ground. The only problem is that cows stomachs are not meant to digest corn and they often develop dangerous E-coli infections as a result. There have been several cases of E-Coli infected beef causing illness and even death.
The simple act of feeding and disposing of the manure from these cattle has turned into a massive operation. Loads of corn and grain must be shipped in constantly, which adds more fossil fuels into the environment worsening the effects of global warming. Manure must be shipped out, which amounts to the same problem.
The local, free pasture based farm on the other hand keeps things simple. Cows graze in large grassy fields eating and moving at their own pace. The system self-sustainable and environmentally safe since there is no need to ship out manure or ship in food. The cows poop in the fields, which fertilizes the grass allowing more to grow for them to eat, which leads to more manure and so on.
I’d say this documentary falls somewhere between informative and persuasive on Kinneavy’s aims of discourse. It informs of how our food is made and how the food could negatively effect us in the hopes that we consumers may be persuaded to eat and buy differently in the future.