Food, Inc. (2009) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Characters/People edit see section history

• Eric Schlosser: An American journalist and author known for investigative journalism, such as in his books "Fast Food Nation", "Reefer Madness" and "Chew On This".
• E. Coli (Escherichia): E. coli otherwise known as Escherichia is a member of a large group of bacterial germs that reside in the intestinal tract of humans and other warm blooded animals. There are roughly about 700 types of E. coli that have been identified which have been responsible for the numerous reports of outbreaks traced to consumption of contaminated foods and beverages that produce Shiga tocin (Stx) because they are identically to type one Shigella dysenteria. The best known notorious STx producing E.coli is E. coli 0157: H7. Stx producing E. coli organisms have several characteristics that make them so dangerous and even fatal to some individuals. The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) estimate that approximately 2000 Americans are hospitalized and about 60 die as a direct result of E. coli infections.E. coli O157:H7 was first recognized as a foodborne pathogen in 1982 during an investigation into an outbreak of hemorrhagic colitis (bloody diarrhea) associated with the consumption of contaminated hamburgers .The following year, Shiga toxin (Stx), produced by the then little-known E. coli O157:H7, was identified as the real culprit. In the ten years following the 1982 outbreak, approximately thirty E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks were recorded in the United States. The actual number that occurred is probably much higher because E. coli O157:H7 infections did not become a reportable disease (required to be reported to public health authorities) until 1987. As a result, only the most geographically concentrated outbreaks would have garnered enough attention to prompt further investigation (Keene et al., 1991 p. 583). It is important to note that only about 10 percent of infections occur in outbreaks, the rest are sporadic. The CDC has estimated that 85 percent of E. coli O157:H7 infections are foodborne in origin. In fact, consumption of any food or beverage that becomes contaminated by animal (especially cattle) manure can result in contracting the disease. Foods that have been identified as sources of contamination include ground beef, venison, sausages, dried (non-cooked) salami, unpasteurized milk and cheese, unpasteurized apple juice and cider ,orange juice, alfalfa and radish sprouts ,lettuce, spinach, and water. Pizza and cookie dough have also been identified as sources of E. coli outbreaks.
• Michael Pollan: An American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.
• Maria: Add a description of this character.
• Tyson
• Joe
• Rosenzweig
• Rodriguez

Quotes edit see section history

• “The way we produce food today, this giant industrial system, is only about thirty years old. And look at the damage it has already done, in such a brief period of time.”

  Eric Schlosser

• “This is not airy blather touting the tofu way to happiness. I see organic as part of a philosophy of wholeness, the science of integration, the need to keep nature humming as the interdependent web of life.”

  Gary Hirshberg

• “Yet, pro-biotech governments and regulatory agencies, led by the United States, maintain that GE foods are "substantially equivalent" to conventional foods, and therefore require neither mandatory labeling nor premarket safety testing.”

  Ronnie Cummins

• “The Big Problem is nothing more nor less than the sum total of countless little everyday choices, most of them are made by us (consumer spending reoresents 70% of our economy), and most of the rest of them made in the name of our needs and desires and preferences.”

  Michael Pollan

• “Although the USDA is responisble for organics, its principal mandate is to promote conventional agriculture, which explains why the department asserts that it "makes no claims that organically produced food is safer or more nutrious than conventional gown food. Organic food differ from conventionally grown food in the way it is grown, handled, and processed."”

  Marion Nestlé

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• Whenever power is concentrated and unaccountable—whether it’s corporate power, governmental power, or religious power—it inevitably leads to abuses.

  Highlighted by 134 Kindle customers

• Food sovereignty is the principle that people have the right to define their own food and agriculture system.

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• The European Union has prohibited the import of all beef treated with hormones, which means it does not accept any U.S. beef.10

  Highlighted by 86 Kindle customers

• All of humanity ate organic food until the early part of the twentieth century, yet we’ve been on a chemical binge diet for about eighty years—an eye blink in planetary history—and what do we have to show for it? We’ve lost one-third of America’s original topsoil; buried toxic waste everywhere; and polluted and depleted water systems, worsened global warming, and exacerbated ailments ranging from cancer to diabetes to obesity.

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• According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, seventy percent of all antimicrobials used in the United States are fed to livestock.1 This accounts for twenty-five million pounds of antibiotics annually, more than eight times the amount used to treat disease in humans.2

  Highlighted by 68 Kindle customers

• To put this growth rate into perspective, the University of Arkansas reports that if humans grew as fast as today’s chickens, we’d weigh 349 pounds by our second birthday.

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• The term “100% Organic” is fairly self-explanatory and refers to foods and fibers that are indeed produced organically at every step, from farm field to store shelf. The second level, simply “Organic,” requires that at least ninety-five percent of a product’s ingredients be organic, with the remaining five percent strictly limited to ingredients on USDA’s National List of Allowable and Prohibited Materials.

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• “The grain required to fill a 25-gallon SUV gas tank with ethanol would feed one person for a full year.”8 And yet the United States is providing huge subsidies to a program that feeds cars, not people.

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• The way we produce food today, this giant industrial system, is only about thirty years old. And look at the damage it has already done, in such a brief period of time.

  Highlighted by 53 Kindle customers

• Vote with Your Dollars. Know where your meat comes from. Refer to the Eat Well Guide to find a farm, store, or restaurant near you that offers sustainably raised meat and dairy products: http://www.eatwellguide.org.

  Highlighted by 32 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• United States
• University Of California
• Africa
• New York
• Europe
• Asia
• Mexico
• Canada
• Washington
• China
• India
• Japan
• Brazil
• Bangladesh
• Indonesia
• Berkeley
• Kentucky
• D.c.
• Nafta
• Stonyfield
• Honduras
• New Zealand
• Florida

Organizations edit see section history

• Food & Water Watch: A nonprofit consumer organization focused on ensuring clean water and safe food.
• Stonyfield: Company that produces organic yogurt, based in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
• Humane Society of the United States: The largest animal protection organization in the United States.
• Organic Consumers Association: An organization focused on promoting the views and interests of organic and socially responsible consumers.
• Pesticide Action Network North America: A group that works to replace pesticide use with ecologically sound and socially just alternatives.
• FoodFirst Information and Action Network: An international human rights organization that advocates for the right to food.
• The Center for Food Safety: A nonprofit public interest and environmental advocacy membership organization.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Karl Weber (Editor)

Other Contributors:

1. Karl Weber (Preface)
2. Robert Kenner (Contributor)
3. Gary Hirshberg (Contributor)
4. Peter Pringle (Contributor)
5. Robert Bryce (Contributor)
6. Anna Lappé (Contributor)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 338.4766400973

Notes for Parents edit see section history

The online version of this book comes with lots of pedagogical info

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Health, Mind & Body › Nutrition
• Books › Entertainment › Movies

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• TakePart
• Participant Media

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Food, Inc. (IMDb)

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history