Food, Inc.! I'm never eating meat again!!

This is a great thread, and I agree the movie was phenomenal and life changing! And while I think being vegan/vegetarian is great for some if not many people, I want to put it out there, that being a vegetarian is not always right very everyone. I am a pescatarian, or a vegetarian that eats fish. My body needs salmon and all the omega 3's found in coldwater fish.
I agree with the words Michael Pollan says in "Omnivore's Dilemma" (a great read, by the way),
"It's not necessarily about the meat you eat, but more importantly about what the meat that you eat, eats." In other words, if it is right for you to eat meat or necessary for you to get nutrients from meat, then choose meat that eats appropriately like wild caught natural salmon, and organic grass fed meats. Not only are you then ensuring a high quality meat with high omega 3 content, but you know the animal was grown happy and healthy, the way God intended. I believe that healthy living translates down to us when we eat the food too.

Make sure as a vegan vegetarian that you eat a wide rainbow of foods and oils to get your Omega 3's as they are sometimes hard to get in a plant based diet. Flax seeds and oils are great ways to get Omega'3 without fish, as well as walnuts and chia seeds.

And of course if you choose to eat eggs, Eggland's Best is loaded with Omega 3's! (just a little plug for Cathe there).
 
JodelleFitzh20 said:
This is a great thread, and I agree the movie was phenomenal and life changing! And while I think being vegan/vegetarian is great for some if not many people, I want to put it out there, that being a vegetarian is not always right very everyone. I am a pescatarian, or a vegetarian that eats fish. My body needs salmon and all the omega 3's found in coldwater fish.
I agree with the words Michael Pollan says in "Omnivore's Dilemma" (a great read, by the way),
"It's not necessarily about the meat you eat, but more importantly about what the meat that you eat, eats." In other words, if it is right for you to eat meat or necessary for you to get nutrients from meat, then choose meat that eats appropriately like wild caught natural salmon, and organic grass fed meats. Not only are you then ensuring a high quality meat with high omega 3 content, but you know the animal was grown happy and healthy, the way God intended. I believe that healthy living translates down to us when we eat the food too.
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Nice post. +1 :cool:
 
Forgive me for bringing up an old thread but I have a question for those of you who have seen the movie.......

How graphic is this movie? I ask because my very sensitive 15yo DD is set to watch this movie as part of her Animals and Environment week-long summer program.

I'm actually all for her seeing the movie based upon the ideas of teaching her about the food industry and allowing her to make her own choices about what she eats but.........

If the graphic scenes are too much then I'm going to have to think about not having her watch it.

I'm also planning on sending an email to the group leader to say we're a little worried about her reaction but I wanted to hear from the educated crowd too!

I didn't know until yesterday that this was on the list of activities otherwise I would have tried harder to watch it myself and I just don't have time this week.

TIA!
 
Hey Suzanne,
I have only seen about half of it. I watched it on Netflix. You can watch it on your computer if you have Netflix. I had to stop watching when it showed the Tyson stuff because I was crying and my kids were wondering WHAT I was watching. (The computer is in the playroom.) Anyway... I am glad you brought this movie back up. I plan on finishing watching it. The first half wasn't graphic, but very interesting. I no longer buy Tyson. I don't eat meat anymore, except for occasional fish, partially because of this documentary.

BTW, the guy who did the documentary is going to be on Oprah one day this week... Forgot which day. In case you wanted to catch that too.

Hope this helped a little. :)
 
Thanks Stephanie, it does help. Can I ask you what was upsetting? DD (like her mom) is the kind who cries at the pet shelter commercials.

ETA - if it's Michael Pollan you're talking about - looks like he'll be on Oprah on Wednesday. I'll be at work but maybe I can catch a scene or two online.
 
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It's been awhile since I watched it, but I remember seeing little chicks on conveyor belts and workers just grabbing them off the belt, putting a tag around their neck and literally throwing them in a bin. It was sooooo disturbing. Then, it showed the chicken farms where they are raised.... Oh.my.goodness.... Most farmers wouldn't go on record, but this one woman who had a chicken coop did, and she said that they encourage farmers to keep the chickens in the dark 24/7. But she refused. Her coop had windows. I found that sad... But most disturbing was the fact that they pump these chickens full of hormones that make them grow twice as fast as is normal...And their breasts grow freakishly large so that their young bone structures can't support them, so they can't walk and they just sit in their filth all day long or limp. The people come to get them at night when it's super dark because they are more docile and they just grab them up by the feet and throw them into bins. It showed the farmer going through on a regular basis and clearing out the dead chickens. It was just very very sad. And I'm not a super sensitive/PETA person. I think anyone would find it disturbing. But I think it's a necessary thing to know. The filmmaker says in the film that he set out to simply do a documentary about where his food came from so that he could be educated about what he ate. It snowballed from there. If anything, I'd say you should watch the first part of the movie just to get an idea about the major food players that monopolize the industry. It's really mind-blowing.
 
kathryn said:
I totally agree.


Unfortunately, I think that's how some people still envision veggie eating.
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I still after all of these years people say to me almost daily..."well, you don't eat anything." I have to constantly correct them by saying I eat a lot, just nothing with animal product. Very tough for some people to get!!!
 
I have been off and on trying to move toward a vegetarial lifestyle as well. Eggs I could do without, but I can't give up cheese.
Would love recommendations of cookbooks and other books. None please that describe graphic details on how animals are killed.

Any suggestions welcome please!
 
wendygurl said:
I have been off and on trying to move toward a vegetarial lifestyle as well. Eggs I could do without, but I can't give up cheese.
Would love recommendations of cookbooks and other books. None please that describe graphic details on how animals are killed.

Any suggestions welcome please!
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I suggest The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. It's just a good book outlining the vegan lifestyle. Very interesting. I also really am enjoying Vegetarian Times magazine.
 
Hi Stephanie- those scenes you described are EXACTLY what made me cry as well an almost hurl a few times!!!! It was sooo heartbreaking.... oh, now I'm having flashbacks to the film! Ugh!

I'm also someone who cries at the animal shelter commercials and such! We were going to get another dog at one point and visited several shelters but I just couldn't decide- I wanted to take ALL of them home!!

Oh and I've yet to see Marley & Me..... wayyyy too many people have warned me about it!! I'd probably cry hysterically! :rolleyes:

Pam
 
Here's a link to a Veg cookbook thread: Veg Cookbooks


Earthlings is another very tough movie to watch (it's nickname is "The Vegan Maker"). I think if one is already aware of animal suffering, there really is no point in seeing the film unless you want to torture yourself. However, if you know someone who is clueless about the issue, this movie will shock them back into reality.
 
Hi Wendy,

Book suggestions:

Eat to Live - Dr. Joel Fuhrman
The Thrive Diet - Brendan Brazier
Becoming Vegetarian - Vesanto Melino & Brenda Davis
In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan

I have read LOTS of vegetarian cookbooks, but I don't make a lot of recipes from them - mostly just get ideas.

Some of the ones I've liked:
any Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook
Rebar ModernFoodCookbook (I checked this out at the library and plan to purchase it)
Get it Ripe by Jae Steele
Extra VeganZa by Laura Matthias
The Garden of Vegan and How it all Vegan by Tanya Barnard & Sara Kramer

Just some ideas! Enjoy experimenting with the recipes :)
Corrie
 
Well it happened to be checked-in at the library so I grabbed it and I'll watch it. I didn't realize it's rated PG so that makes me think that there aren't actual scenes of actual slaughtering....right? DD has already mentioned her worries to the group leader so at least she's aware.
 
I have it on my "Instant" queue on Netflix, but need to finish the pre-made salads I've prepped that have chicken on them BEFORE I watch it...I have a feeling I wouldn't want to eat them if I watched first. I've been toying with the idea of 'converting' for a while now and am s-l-o-w-l-y taking baby steps.
 
Watched it finally.....

LaughingWater said:
Here's a link to a Veg cookbook thread: Veg Cookbooks


Earthlings is another very tough movie to watch (it's nickname is "The Vegan Maker"). I think if one is already aware of animal suffering, there really is no point in seeing the film unless you want to torture yourself. However, if you know someone who is clueless about the issue, this movie will shock them back into reality.
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Thanks for linking back to that thread Laughingwater. I just got Veganomicon for Xmas and I love it.

I think I will stay far, far away from Earthlings. I might not recover.

So......Food, Inc. I watched to see if it would freak out DD. And the answer to that is...probably not. Yes, a few of the scenes are disturbing. And the overall concept of factory farming is sad. But there's nothing here that she can't just turn away from for a few seconds .

The overall message is so important. I'll be interested in her reaction and we'll be able to talk about it this afternoon.

IMO the best part of the movie was the farmer from Polyface Farms. He had a lot of interesting things to say about farming philosophy.

http://www.polyfacefarms.com/default.aspx

I found a few websites for alternative sources of meat. I live with a group of meat eaters (exept DS who, for his own reasons, is a vegetarian - "meat is too juicy") but I also do a lot of the grocery shopping so I can at least try to make more humane and thoughtful choices.

http://www.localharvest.org/
http://www.eatwild.com/
http://www.certifiedhumane.com/

Thanks for listening. :D
 
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