Open Writing

There is a saying, “You are what you eat,” but do you know what you are eating these days? A couple of weeks ago I watched a TV documentary on the US Public Broadcasting System, about the food industry in America. Titled “Food Inc.,” it was filmed by Robert Kenner, and drew on the work of authors Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan, and from the efforts of food activists.

What it revealed was disturbing, to the extent that I think of the horrific images portrayed every time I eat chicken, a steak or a pork chop. The basis for the documentary is that, comparatively speaking, food in the US costs less today than it did fifty years ago, and is not as seasonally restricted as it was back then.

In order to bring that about, a revolution has taken place in the way that animals and crops are raised and distributed. In the case of livestock, the way beasts and birds are slaughtered also has been drastically changed.
In summary, livestock has become nothing more than a product. Produce is being genetically altered to an extent that consumers are unaware of.

In large part, the revolution has been possible because Agribusiness is in the hands of a relatively few, huge corporations, who not only process, market and distribute food products, but also are involved in the supply of fertilizers, animal feed, food supplements and seeds. They also research and apply genetic engineering.

The big five US companies are Monsanto, with sales in 2009 of $11.7 billion; Cargill, with revenues in 2009 of $116 billion; Tyson, with sales in 2009 of $26.7 billion; Archer Daniels Midland, with revenues in 2009 of $69.2 billion; and ConAgra, with sales in 2009 of $12.7 billion. I accept that sales and earnings are not comparable, and do not correlate directly to profits, but I list them simply to convey the size of these companies.

The degree of control they exercise over client growers and farmers is draconian. In an example, the documentary examined Monsanto’s policies in regard to seed supplies to its contracted farmers. The seeds they supply are genetically engineered and patented. Farmers are prohibited by the company from saving seed from one year to the next in order to circumvent the patent, and are subject to legal action if they do.

In one region, a contractor had invented a seed cleaning machine that he would take around to farms. Monsanto sued him and put him out of business. The slogan Monsanto uses on its web page and in TV commercials is, “Monsanto is an agricultural company. We apply innovation and technology to help farmers around the world produce more while conserving more.” It sounds very noble, but is really quite cynical.

The few farmers I have known personally are not a sentimental bunch. In response one time to my remark that I miss seeing cattle in the fields, one of them responded laconically that though I may care, the cows don’t.

Farmers are driven by the knowledge that a couple of bad seasons can put them out of business. Many of them are heavily in debt for the costly equipment they need to plant and harvest their crops, or to milk and feed their cows, so they are an easy sell when a company offers them a degree of security if they toe the corporate line.

Once they are signed up there is virtually no escape. The Agribusinesses are like the old company store. They supply the seed and the fertilizer, the animal foodstuffs and the food additives, and they market the farms’ output, be it corn, wheat, soybeans, cattle, pigs or chickens.

The documentary also revealed the methods involved in raising and slaughtering cattle, pigs and chickens. Chickens are kept in huge enclosed sheds and fed a diet that reduces their growth time from hatching to slaughtering to seven weeks. By that time, their weight has increased to a point that their legs cannot support them.

Cattle are restrained in fenced, crowded feedlots until they reach slaughtering weight, and then are forced into the slaughterhouse with electric prods. Those that cannot walk due to sickness, or because they are lame, the so called “downers,” are pushed along by backhoe tractors. The flesh of the “downers” is chemically treated to kill bacteria then ground up and used as filler in hamburger and other processed meat.

In the knowledge that livestock and crops are so adulterated by chemical food additives, genetic modification, pesticides, inhumane rearing and slaughtering, what is a concerned consumer to do? The immediate answer that comes to mind is to buy food only from organic and kosher sources, but then cost and availability become a factor.

There is also a question as to whether the existing organic farms are capable of meeting demand if a large segment of the population decides to purchase only from them. In the end, and perhaps naively, one would hope that public opinion might persuade Agribusiness to change its ways.

That seems an unlikely possibility, but it is encouraging to note that Wal-Mart, one of America’s largest merchandisers, is starting to feature organic foods. That could get Agribusiness’ attention.

# # #