Monopolies In The Food Industry

Times have changed immensely in the food industry, specifically farming, in the past one hundred years. Major companies are taking over the farm industry while others are even “taking over” the legislative government by receiving many influential government jobs. The documentary Food Inc. sheds light to the public about how monopolies in the food industry are becoming more common and the impacts they are having. Monopolies in the food industry have a negative impact on society. Monsanto is an agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology company who sells crop seeds to farmers. They have evolved however and are very influential in the U.S. government with fifteen of their employees having a job in the government in the past thirty years.
This act, “Essentially gives companies that deal with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genetically engineered (GE) seeds immunity to the federal courts, among other things.” (Global Research News). This seed company has the power to create and pass their own laws in U.S. legislature. This allows them to become immune to possible prosecutions so they can now do what they wish without the fear of rebuttal. This negatively affects society since they cannot be made responsible for their actions since this bill has been passed. Now that this one law has been passed it is a matter of time before a new law is proposed to further protect or benefit Monsanto. Allowing Monsanto to have multiple employees also have jobs in the government, makes the things being passed benefit Monsanto the most and is less concerned about the other companies it can
Companies such as Tyson and Smithfield among with a few others are the main contributors to the meat industry. They have thousands of satellite farms around the United States who grow their product. With major companies in control of the majority of the industry, they have very few competitors who will challenge them and the ethics of their practices. In the documentary Food Inc., it shows the inside of a Tyson chicken satellite farm. This is the first farm out of three approached to actually allow the cameras into barns to see how things are ran. Inside, you see birds bred to have breasts so big they can only take a few steps before falling because their legs cannot support the weight. Then when the trucks come to pick up the birds, dozens of dead birds are left lying on the ground while the rest are thrown and kicked to the trucks. This inhumane treatment of animals needs to be stopped but instead is ignored. After Carole Morrison, the chicken farmer, allowed filmmakers into her farm, her contract with Tyson was terminated. The other farmers who were approached about looking at their farms before Morrison denied speaking out or barely even speaking about their farm or the corporation that they work for. The look of fear on their face was easy to read; they did not have to physically say it for the audience to recognize it. Morrison was fired for speaking out and showing the truth in