The Powerless Nature of Government Agencies, Outline Example

Introduction

1. In the documentary Food Inc., a person named Eric Schlosser shows that companies are becoming successful in their ability to evade the regulation of government agencies
2. Our government is therefore not able to resolve the nation’s health and food problems, which puts the health of the general public at a major risk

Body Paragraph 1

1. Companies know that they are not helping improve the health of people that they sell their food products to, but they will continue selling their products without changing the health of their products.
2. According to Schlosser in Fast Food Nation, “The spread of BSE [mad cow disease] in Europe has revealed how secret alliances between agribusiness and government can endanger the public health” (Schlosser 2015)
3. This shows that we our government agencies are powerless to help with these problems; they are “toothless” organizations who intend to help, but do not have the power to be able to make realistic change

Body Paragraph 2

1. It is important to remember that government agencies are also powerless to stop some of the legislation that contributes to the food problem
2. In Food Inc., the narrator explains, “It was in the 1980s when the Supreme Court determined you could patent life and this began the race to patent the most productive. When you genetically modify a crop, you own it” (Schlosser 23)
3. The regulatory agencies do not participate in decisions about the food industry, but are required to simply carry out this legislation anyway

Conclusion

1. In conclusion, government agencies and other government workers can be considered “toothless” because even though they have been put in place to help members of the public, they do not have the power to do so in reality
2. As long as these big companies are able to have power over politicians, government agencies will be required to enforce laws in a manner that may not be beneficial to the public
3. Every person has the right to access healthy food, but we need to take steps to make sure that this can become possible, promoting the best interest of everyone in the nation

Works Cited

Food, Inc. (DVD video, 2009).

Schlosser, E. Fast Food Nation. Harper Perennial, 2001.