I'm very torn when it comes to issues such as animal rights and organic farming because it's not something I think of very often. I love animals; all animals. One time my freshman year I watched a PETA video on t.v. and cried about it. I've also been handed PETA fliers on Court Street on my way to eat at Wendy's and sat there reading the literature. I'm a walking contradiction.
I've only seen bits and pieces of Fast Food Nation and it never piqued my interest enough to read the book itself but I found the lecture to be pretty engaging. Save for all the talk about the McDonald's corporation ruining our country's land, people, and culture, he gave a little history about the companies beginning and expansion.
He started his lecture by saying that he too was once a McDonald's fan and his favorite meal is still probably a burger and fries; this gave him some credibility. He then went on to tell the audience about how he became jaded; that fateful summer in 1997 when the editor of Rolling Stone asked him to do a "behind the counter" story on the McDonald's corporation. He assured us he had no preconceived ideas about the fast food industry till that day.
He then pointed out something I had never really thought about; the way we ate hadn't drastically changed for thousands of years until the advent of fast food, which drastically changed the way we eat... and look. As our nation became industrialized, people stopped relying on subsistence farming as they moved into cities and the suburbs. As McDonald's grew, they changed the way that people ate and how that food was produced. Apparently, McDonald's is the biggest purchaser of things like beef, apples, lettuce, tomatoes, etc, in our country, so I see how they could have a lot of leverage in the way its produced. For instance, there are 4 major meatpacking companies that control 90% of the market, so one would presume that if McDonald's is the biggest purchaser, they would call a lot of the shots.
Essentially, McD's have turned human beings and animals into commodities. They don't care about health and quality, they care about minimizing costs and increasing efficiency, which doesn't bode well for our stomachs. But it's a brilliant business model... Any way, I've seen videos of the way they treat animals in these factories and its really gross, but somehow it hasn't been enough to curb my appetite. The living conditions of the animals are deplorable to say the least; they live in overcrowded quarters, being pumped full of antibiotics and hormones, running around in their own excrement. That doesn't sound like something I should be eating
I appreciate your honesty in saying you're a walking contradiction, I suspect we all are to some extent. I think that a lot of people feel the way you do about this issue, they don't support the business practices or the treatment of the animals or the lack of knowledge about how the food is grown, yet they still don't make any big lifestlye changes. Why is that? Is it because the issue, despite the PETA flyers and videos and books, is just not that immediate and real? I wonder what it would take for people to not just believe that this stuff is going on, but to actually make some changes.
ReplyDeleteI like that you were able to gain a sense of clarity by comparing your experiences with Schlosser's. I eat meat as well, but like Schlosser stated, he doesn't eat a burger from any fast food place. I try to make a valiant effort to go out of my way if I buy/eat meat - organic, grain fed, etc. It costs a little more, but I feel better about it. The last bit of Schlosser's lecture reassured me of that. Those little steps eventually start to snowball to a point where if you do choose to eat meet, these wholesome companies that offer "good" meat as an option don't seem to shy away in giving to customer information. I feel that's key! Also, I don't know a lot of information about it because I haven't researched it, but hasn't PETA gotten some bad raps in the past? Am I mistaken?
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