One of the most eye opening scenes within the film Food Inc, was the segment on Tyson and Purdue chicken farms. Tyson and Purdue together make up the largest meat industry within the United States. Scientists and engineers have genetically redesigned chickens to grow larger breasts in almost half the time. Antibiotics and other supplements are put into the feed to localize most of the muscle and fat growth of the chicken around the breast meat. The demand for larger chicken breasts in many American households is driving this trend. On average, chickens currently live a little over a month before their breasts become too heavy for their legs to support. In theses case, chickens typically cannot walk so they remain seated in their own feces and urine. Growers have no voice when it comes to the treatment of industry raised chickens. One grower named Carroll stated, "It's like being a slave to the company!" Many growers have no choice because they risk losing their contract or being sued by the billion dollar meat industries of Tyson or Purdue. After Carroll's interview she was terminated by Purdue. I agree that chicken plays a key role in the diet of many Americans including myself. The demand is extremely high especially for larger cuts of meat. However, I think chickens should be grown in a clean outdoor environment and fed naturally without hormones or antibiotics.
Another alarming scene of the movie was the segment on E. coli O157: H7, which is the cause of Enterohemorragic Gastrointestinal illness. Symptoms include nausea, abdominal cramps, and bloody diarrhea. This strain of E. coli is transmitted to humans with the consumption of contaminated food with feces. Within the cattle industry, cows are fed corn and antibiotics. This leads to large inorganic piles of feces that need to be relocated. Many farms fail to remove the feces so eventually the cows become covered in it. Runoff can cause the E. coli in the feces to spread to surrounding soil that is used for agriculture. This can inoculate fruits and vegetables leading to an E.coli epidemic. When it comes time to slaughtering, the E. coli can contaminate the meat if proper sanitation procedures are not followed. Since E. coli is naturally found in the gut flora of cows, the best way to keep this organism under control is to feed cows natural grass. The grass cleanses the lining of the intestines and nutrients from the feces are recycled into the soil. I think the problem of E. coli can be greatly reduced if meat farms took the time to keep their facilities clean. Also, if cows were fed naturally in open land the significance of Enterohemorrhagic E. coli would be reduced.
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