I have seen Food Inc. before, but that was in high school, when I still lived at home. It definitely left an impression on me then, but living at home, it was much easier to eat organically and locally produced food. Now, after seeing the film again, I am confined to the foods provided by Aramark - the majority of which are definitely not organic, or local, and in many cases not even healthy. I have been struggling to pick which foods I want to eat. In general, I tend not to eat much meat from school, but after watching the film, I now struggle with other things as well. Even the salad vegetables. I think about how they were mass produced, and possibly genetically modified. There were grown somewhere far away, and picked before they were ripe. I don't even get tomatoes from the dining hall anymore because they don't taste anything like a real tomato. But when I have convinced myself that even the salad bar is not a good option, what am I left with? I envy the incoming classes who will have access to more local food with the changing dining hall plans, but I am happy that Wheaton is moving in that direction.
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| My sad looking salad from Emerson. |
I've also found it difficult to eat dining hall food, and most foods in general after watching good ink. It's sad to think that the majority of what I eat contains genetically modified material, and I've realized that I have absolutely no idea about where the produce I eat is coming from. I hope that with dining hall enhancements, Wheaton remains true to it's promise to include more local produce options, and provides students with actual knowledge as to where the majority of food is coming from.
ReplyDeleteI could really relate to this post, because it was also difficult for me to eat many foods after watching the film. I first watched it back in high school as well, and agree that it was much easier to get over those images of meat being processed when I had some sort of access to locally grown food/organic food. It is difficult for me to eat the meat here at Wheaton anyways, so after that class period I stayed away from it for a few weeks at least.
ReplyDeleteBeing a vegetarian, I know the struggle of eating at Wheaton. Aramark does not always have a local or organic food source- however I noticed this year there has been a push in that direction- and that the various types of food are not always up to the standard one would at home. I know a lot of people sway away from eating the meat at Wheaton College, yet I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a negative response to eating the meat offered. Maybe this is because of how the food is prepared or the negative influences people have had in their pervious school cafetarias- school food never seems to be a very positive experience for anyone.
ReplyDeleteI watched FOOD inc. back in high school and it really does make you think about what you put into your body and makes you think where and how that food was grown or produced.
I know to combat some of the issues that the Wheaton food presents is buying food from the farmers market that come to campus on selected Fridays. Yes, you might have to spend a few extra dollars and time to make your own food but it is a great way to bring some friends together and make a pot luck, and it is a nice break from the repetitive food offers available in the dinning hall.
I also feel like walking into the cafeteria and trying to imagine where and how the food was produced is a very daunting experience, especially after watching the movie. Still, what scares me the most is the realization that most people we know still have no idea how out of hand food production practices have gotten - or even worse, maybe they just don't want to think about it.
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