Food, Inc. Discussion Guide - TakePart

C H A P T E R 1Fast Food to All FoodS y n o p s i s o f F i l m C h a p t e rThis first chapter of Food, Inc. opens with a brief history of thefast food industry. It depicts how fast food has transformednot only what and how people eat, but also farming practicesand the entire global food system. As one example of thistransformation, the chapter focuses on how the food industryhas altered the way that chickens are raised, including changesin farm operations, the living conditions of chickens, and eventhe chickens themselves.R u n n i n g T i m e : 1 2 : 5 2 m i n u t e sB a c k g r o u n d I n f o r m at i o nWhen most of us think of a farm, we imagine a place with a red barn, greenpastures, and chickens running around the yard. But the reality of most farmsin the United States today is far from that image. Farming has become soindustrialized and mechanized that many modern farms are like factories.The poultry industry is an example of this change to factory farms. As depicted inFood, Inc., chickens today are often raised in huge metal buildings with no accessto light or fresh air, confined together with thousands of birds in one building,and made to grow so quickly that often their bones cannot keep up and they canlose their ability to walk.2 3F o o d , I n c . D I S C U S S I O N G U I D E© P a r t i c i p a n t M e d i a