Review: Diet for a New America

The film we watched this week was Diet for a New America. It was made in 1995 based on John Robbins. John Robbins, who was the son of Irv Robbins one of the co-founders of Baskin Robins. Rather than following in his fathers ice cream legacy, he found something that was more rewarding to his life. John was quite sick growing up with Polio, which seemed to be his biggest motivation. He often wondered how he could regain health. Johns solution to regaining health was being more concious of the foods he would consume. Being health concious lead him to realize that there was a link between agriculture, health, and the environment. John had various doctors come on film and explain just how the food that we eat has an imact on our health. The doctors explained that the excess amount of (saturated) fat consumed, goes into the blood which can cause various complications such as blood clots, heart attack, stroke, and even cancer (while also keeping in mind heredity, medical history, diet and exercise). One doctor even showed a tube of blood where you could actually see the fat seperated, it was a pretty disgusting visual!

The video went on to explain how different countries have different ways of eating, some are even "scared to become like us". To one of our American servings of meat, could feed a family of 4 or 5 in other countries who use meat as a side dish! Not only did John talk about how bad the meat was after it was cooked, he explain the harsh environments that these animals are kept in before they reach the slauter house. On some farms (of course not all!) cows are kept in confined places where their movement is constricted to make sure that the meat will be "tender" when cooked.

In order to produce all the food grain needed to feed the cows, there are mass amounts of pesticides and fertilizers that are used. Essentially the cows are eating it which obviously turns into manure. The video went into detail explaining the problems that cow manure has on the environment. Some live stalk making up to 6,000 lbs of manure each year. These cow feces go into the ground, essentially entering the water and becoming destructable to the environment and the people surrounding the farms. Nitrate (from the fertilizer on grains that are fead to the cows) can enter the drinking water, causing harm and birth defects to babies called Blue Baby Syndrome.

This movie was a little challenging to watch (depsite it being a little out dated) because it goes against most (not everyone) of what our normal up-bringing as an American is. Personally, I grew up in a family where all of our dinner meals were based off of meat and a side dish of vegetables. I have always been a "picky eater" (what my family calls it), and since highschool I don't really eat beef that often. I still get werid looks and comments from my brother and dad when I eat a turkey burger at dinner while everyone else is eating a beef burger! Essentially this movie was an eye opener to me for realizing how the health, environment, and agriculture are so closely tied together. This movie was very biased, but I think watchin it with an open mind helped me realize some important points that were made.

Polio-A viral disease marked by inflammation of nerve cells of the brain stem and spinal cord.

Pesticide-Chemical preparation for destroying plant, fungal and animal pests.

Fertilizer-Mixture of substances used to make crops more productive.

Blood clot-A semisolid gelatinous mass of blood that consists of red blood cells, white blood cells and plateletes trapped within a fibrin network.

Stroke-A blockage of a blood vessel leading to the brain causing inadequate oxygen supply.

Heart Attack-Damage to an area of heart muscle that is deprived of oxygen (usually an artery)