Food Inc 3

The chapter written by Joel Salatin "Declare Your Independence" made several good points and was very detailed in his descriptions of the industrial food companies. The only part I didn't like was that the author used a lot of information that he expected the reader to already understand. A lot of his information went right over my head and I had to read some parts a couple of times before understanding. It's not that his information is hard to understand but the way he writes is a bit confusing and hard to follow. I like how he compared the diet of our ancestors to the way we eat and how we've become helpless when it comes to deciding and creating our meals. I like his proposal that we should "opt out" and stop supporting large industrial food companies that care about making money, not about their consumers' health and safety. He made a really good point that we can start with small steps and learn to cook for ourselves again. The only thing that Salatin doesn't take into consideration is the fact that a large majority of U.S. citizens don't have the financial means to purchase ingredients for a meal, let alone purchase local, and often more expensive, ingredients. It's really hard for families to rely only on local farmers and to be able to afford local foods on a regular basis. Overall I think Salatin has the right idea and he put it perfectly when he said "The people who sit on the throne tend to like things the way they are. They have no reason to change until they are forced to do so" (pg 190). It all comes down to us and our decision to opt out of supporting large industrial food companies that have no interest in the health of their buyers.
In chapter 11 I really like the layout and the simple suggestions. It is very straight-forward and helpful in giving us good advice on what to look for and what to ask the farmers. By listing the questions and giving information on each issue really helps us understand that there are much better options out there and some farmers care more about their product and customers than larger industries. I think chapter 11 is aimed at the average American who is looking to improve their consumption.