Food Inc. for Thought

A commentary by Hansel New

When you sit down for a nice juicy hamburger, do you ever think about where the ground beef patty came from that sits garnished between two sesame seed buns?

Most of us are so detached from farm life that we don't think too much about where our food comes from. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, less than 2 percent of the U.S. population now farms or ranches full-time for a living.

A balanced meal?

I recently watched the new documentary Food, Inc. The film's creators claim the movie "lifts the veil on the nation's food industry, exposing its highly mechanized underbelly." And they're betting that you won't like what you see.

One topic the movie takes aim at is the U.S. meat processing industry.

It shows some disturbing images of animal abuse, including both the conditions in which the animals are raised and how they are treated when being brought to slaughter. Next the movie focuses on a small farm in rural Virginia as a more idyllic atmosphere for the animals.

Is small and rural necessarily better? I grew up in rural Eastern Oregon, and I can say that this is not always the case.

Location vs. attitude

Though a change in location and the way market animals are fed may help, the movie does not directly address one underlying issue: Animal husbandry—the act of caring for livestock—is more about attitude and heart than location and food. "Good people take care of their animals, but even the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel" (Proverbs 12:10, New Century Version). This applies whether we care for 10 head of cattle or 10,000.

Dr. Temple Grandin, a leading animal welfare expert, put it this way: "The single most important determinant of good animal welfare in a slaughter plant is the attitude of management." People must care.

When God made all things, He placed humans who were made in the divine image at the top and gave them dominion over all things. In other words, God expects people to act and behave in a proper way toward the rest of creation—to be good stewards of what was put in our trust.

The rest of the story

Did you know that God's care for animals is even evident in His weekly day of rest for mankind? Remarkably, a restatement of the Sabbath commandment (one of the Ten) says, "Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest" (Exodus 23:12). To learn more about this amazing day, read "What Does the Bible Say About…the Sabbath Day?"

Wouldn't it be so much better if people treated livestock the way God intended? We can change some things as consumers, but the true fulfillment of this vision must wait until the Kingdom of God is established—right here on the earth! Chew on that the next time you have a hamburger. VT