Grocery Store Lies

I was recently strolling around the aisles of a local grocery store and found myself paying more attention to the items on the shelves than I ever had before. As this semester comes to a close, I realize how much more conscious this course has made me about the food I buy and eat. As I surveyed the various food items around me, I started to feel as if I was surrounded by lies; the lies of the grocery store. The way food was displayed and portrayed, the lack of information on the labels, just a couple of things that jumped out at me. However, one item in particular grabbed my attention; the boneless Perdue chicken breasts. 

What was it about this item? The romanticized picture of the farm. On the top of the package, right in the center was a photo of an old beautiful farm house. On both sides of the farm house sits two long structures, most likely representing where the chickens are housed. There are trees and a grassy lawn with the sun either rising or setting in the background. The picture sends a message to the consumer that Purdue raises the chicken he or she is buying on a beautiful "home-owned" farm. From taking this course, I know for a fact that this message is a lie. In the film, Food Inc., our class was able to view how Purdue really treats their product and farmers. A woman that housed chickens for Purdue allowed cameras to enter and see for themselves the horrendous conditions they are in and also explained some of the abuse Purdue puts on its farmers. The chicken house was stuffed full of chickens struggling to stay alive. They were so big that they could not walk and their legs were broken from the weight. Feces was everywhere and dead chickens were scattered across the ground. It was a disgusting scene and the woman had nothing good to say about the process and she believed the public needed to know. 

This is so far from what is displayed for consumers in the grocery store. The aesthetics of a chicken package give us a feeling of comfort, that this food came from a nice American farm house standing on the grass in the sun. I took a quick picture of the package (displayed above) and kept walking, full of disgust. It is truly amazing how to keep ourselves comfortable, we have no problem turning a blind eye. The lie of the little farm house lives on, and it lives right in our local grocery store.