Food Inc. Pages 183-218

In the first part of the section I read, Joel Salatin argues that the only effective way to deal with the problem of how our food is grown, is to opt out of the system. A couple question that he addresses give the readers a reason why this can be possible. Without the industrial food production industry, it is possible to feed the entire world. Up until recent centuries, the human population has been able to do this up until the revolution of the fast food industry. Another question he addressed was if locally grown foods were safe to eat. Indeed, he found that they are if not just as safe, then they are more safe given that they do not use chemicals to feed or process the food. He presents the idea of opting out of contributing to the industry just as an alternative, like he relates to the home-schooling option presented up through high school. He states that opting out consists of four basic ideas and things to do. The first one is to rediscover our kitchens. Since fast food and pre-packaged foods have come around, families have lost touch with their kitchens and the skills needed to cook.The second idea is to buy locally. Buying from farmers markets and locally owned grocery stores can support your community as well as straying from buying chemically and genetically altered foods. Another idea is to eat seasonally. Eating seasonally can take away from long transported foods that contain preservatives that keep them ready to eat. Lastly, it is good to plant a garden. Planting a garden allows consumers to know what exactly is done to the food and it ensures natural freshness rather than using chemicals.
One can stay away from buying foods that have been genetically or chemically altered by asking a series of different question that allows the buyer to know what, where, and how the food came to be. These questions should be asked to your farmer or local grocery. Was the animal raised on a pasture? Was it fed grass? How was the animal finished? Was it given antibiotics? Were steroids, hormones, or growth promoters used? How much time does it spend outdoors daily? How was it raised? Where did they live? These questions let you know lots about if the animals were treated correctly and if chemicals were used to make the process faster.
Nutrition is key. The nutrition guidelines to live by are to eat less, move more, eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and to avoid too much junk food. If someone were to follow these guidelines, it would not ensure a healthy body. It also depends on the persons genetic makeup and habits such as smoking and drinking. A sign of obesity in the United States can be correlated to the amount of calories that are made available to society. The more production of foods are in the United States, the more of a supply there is. The more of a supply allows the consumer to buy more and consume more, making the intake of calories higher. Organics do have some benefits that are better than non-organics. Organic peaches and pears contain more vitamin C and E, whereas organic berries contain more antioxidants. Dairy products can be avoided all together given that the person eats a supplementary amount of fruits, vegetables, and grains. Fish is a good source of fatty omega 3 proteins and is needed in the body. The amount of sugar and sodas that are consumed can also correlate with the obesity in America.
This section of the book was very interesting and filled with facts and different comparisons with things other than food. The section was interesting to me because I liked reading about nutrition of the body and how to stay healthy. The book does a pretty good job of this so I don't mind reading about it. The part where it talked about rebelling against the Industrial food industry was kind of ridiculous at first but then he actually made it seem feasible to do.