A Rather Sad Commentary

Izzy and I watched Fast Food Nation sometime last week. If you haven't seen it, it is like The Jungle in movie form. Both are fictional stories about what happens in the meat processing industry and both paint a sad picture of how the people who work in this industry are exploited.

What is interesting is that when The Jungle was published, people were outraged. They were so outraged that the FDA was created to regulate the food processing industry. The same is not true of Fast Food Nation. I don't think anyone is surprised that their food might not be of the best quality. I am not. However, I am sure that the people who process our food (and who harvest our food) are suffering in terrible conditions. No one ever says anything about it and no one does anything about it.

Actually, this is the third movie I have seen in the last few months that highlights how the corporations who provide certain products abuse the vulnerable in order to get the products to consumers at a cheaper price. I have no doubt that the practices portrayed in these films actually happen. As of yet, I have heard very few people who were disturbed enough by these practices to look in to what is actually happening in these industries and see what could be done. The sad fact is that I haven't and I have no idea how I could do anything about this kind of exploitation. Shame on me.