Never Watch a Documentary about Food at 1 am

I won't deny it. I am a hypercondriac. There, I said it. I am one of those people who Googles health symptoms on my Blackberry in the middle of the night. Those are the moments when I really wish I had an iphone! That Blackberry screen is so tiny. Or maybe it's because I'm pretty sure I have a degenerative eye condition and that explains why I can't see the small print. Or ... No, no, no - I can't go there.

My recent scare was a brain aneurysm. I know, I'm smart enough to realize that if I was having an aneurysm that I wouldn't be writing this. But for some reason, I allow myself to get worked up over fears of ailments that I have no real control over. Please tell me that I'm not the only one who does this. Please - even if you have to lie!

I had a whopper headache last night. It didn't feel like my usual headaches; it was pretty much all on my left side. Now common sense told me this was sinus and weather related. However, of course, I was convinced that I must be having an aneurysm. As a result, I got up and watched television. Maybe not such a good idea.

I had heard a number of friends talking about the documentary, Food, Inc. I never get TV time at my house, so it was fun to have the livingroom, television, and Netflix all to myself. I snuggled up with my trusty Poodle beside me and began watching this much anticipated doc. I read Fast Food Nation when it first came out nearly six years ago. I remember it like yesterday. My husband was at a conference, and I couldn't sleep. I'll never forget calling him in the wee hours of the morning to declare that we'd never eat meat again. I was utterly repulsed. Even though eventually ate meat again, I continued to have Schlosser's images in my head.
The opening of Food, Inc. is very tolerable. I knew that corn was in a good amount of our foods, but I seriously had no idea it was in pretty much everything on our planet - even batteries! Naturally, I immediately ran to the pantry to look for the many corn ingredients disguised as other additives. To quote one of my daughter's favorite books, "Zoo-wee mama!" That stuff is EVERYWHERE. Food, Inc. wasn't exaggerating. This brought to mind my extremely high fructose levels. I had assumed they were off the chart due to my love of fruit. Wrong! I'm now convinced that corn plays a role in this.

And then came meat. I thought that I was prepared for it, but like most things you enter into feeling confident, I immediately realized that I couldn't handle it. I made it through the chicken houses ... barely. And then came the cows. I just couldn't do it, folks. I don't know if it's because I was "having" an aneurysm or because it was 1 am, but I had to change it to Easy A. I might go back later this week, but we'll see. I endured enough to realize that my decision to go meat-free is a good one. Initially, I made the decision for health reasons, but now, I can easily say that it's much more. Maybe it's the image of a bazillion chickens crammed into a dark, narrow barn. Or perhaps it's the food they're fed or the disease they encounter. I don't know. I just know that I'm glad there isn't much flesh left in my freezer.

Food, Inc. clip - WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK.
DISTURBING IMAGES