We are watching the film Food Inc. in order to learn more about where our food comes from. This is a documentary about the big business of the food industry.
http://www.takepart.com/foodinc
http://www.takepart.com/foodinc
Facts from Food, Inc.
- In the 1970s, the top five beef packers controlled about 25% of the market. Today, the top four control more than 80% of the market.
- In the 1970s, there were thousands of slaughterhouses producing the majority of beef sold. Today, we have only 13.
- In 1998, the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and E. coli 0157h7 so that if a plant repeatedly failed these tests, the USDA could shut down the plant. After being taken to court by the meat and poultry associations, the USDA no longer has that power.
- In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006, the FDA conducted only 9,164.
- 32,000 hogs a day are killed in Smithfield Hog Processing Plant in Tar Heel, N.C, which is the largest slaughterhouse in the world.
- The average American eats over 200 lbs. of meat a year
- The modern supermarket now has, on average, 47,000 products, the majority of which is being produced by only a handful of food companies.
- In 2007, there were 73,000 people sickened from the E. coli virus.