Food, INC came to my city and we were able to go and watch it. Wow! What a great reminder. This is definitely one of the best films I have watched on the topic of how food is grown in America and the problems with it.
This is a must see film!
Here is a great description of the film from the film’s official site.
“In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.
Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield’s Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms’ Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it’s produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.”
I think the most important thought to take home from the film was the idea of “what are we voting for with our grocery money?”. Are we supporting an industry that ill treats it’s workers, contains contaminated food, that ill treats animals (which in turn affects us as well, by the way), and has so many…..well….un-nourishing practices?
Or, are we supporting local farms who do it right and raise animals on food they were meant to eat and grow plants the right way and don’t take advantage of other human beings? We are “voting” with our money.
I love how the movie challenges us to realize that the consumer is not dependent on the manufacturer, because if the consumer doesn’t consume, the manufacturer is forced to change. Change can and does happen through our choices.
Other Thought Provoking Ideas:
- When you buy hamburger from a regular grocery store, you are buying the same meat that you will find at McDonalds.
- Cloned meat anyone? As if eating meat from ill animals stuffed full of not only grain (which is not a natural food for them) was not enough, and as if stuffing animals full of genetically modified grain was not enough, surely, eating meat from cloned animals stuffed full of genetically modified food is enough for most of us to realize we have problems!
- Cheap food comes at a cost.
All to say, see this film if it comes to your town, or buy it when it’s available. It’s definitely worth it. Watch the trailer here.
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We saw this too and it was heartbreaking. I agree they did a wonderful job of clearly showing (some) of the problems with our food industry today. If it changes even just 1 person’s mind about the food they decided to buy, that is a step in the right direction. I just wish there was a way to get it out to the masses ya know? Wonderful movie and such a great reminder.
I am hopping that the movie will be in my area sooner than later, but for now I’ll just have to keep waiting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the film, it makes me want to see it even more.
I wholeheartedly agree that everyone should see this movie! I took my two teenage sons who are skeptical about my eating “strategy”. They’re still stuck on all the junk foods that their friends eat. Both left the theater with dazed looks in their eyes and I know it made them think. As one of the reviewers said in Denver – “if you eat, you should see this movie”.
Here’s the thing. I was planning to see this film then a friend said, “Just saw Food Inc. and it made me glad I gave up meat 17 years ago.” What if a person LIKES eating meat? In addition, I know that an animal has to die to feed someone but does everyone need to watch it happen?
Chiffonade,
I can see why your friend said that, though the point in the movie was not that we shouldn’t eat meat, but that we should eat humanely raised meat.
We are so separated from the realities of eating meat (that the animal actually has to die) that it was a little jarring to see the “good” farmer slaughter his chickens. I blame that more on how distant we are from that common reality, then it being bad for us to see. I know that some people won’t even buy a whole chicken because it weirds them out that they can tell it is a chicken carcass!
Traditionally a family would respectfully slaughter their farm animals in a humane way. It wasn’t pleasant, perhaps, but a reality of what needs to happen if you are going to eat meat!
I wanted to add that another good movie is “King Corn”. “Food, Inc” is on my list of must-sees too! You can go to http://www.kingcorn.com to see a trailer and get an overview of the film but much in line with Food, Inc, shows the behind-the-scenes process of where our food comes from. Talks about genetically modified corn and essentially how EVERYTHING we eat is corn (assuming you eat processed food and meats from McDonalds or the grocery store). Also, the plight of the American farmer being forced to grow bigger crops and eventually being pushed out by the conglomerate companies. For those of you with a membership at Netflix, you can get it there or watch it for free instantly on the computer. 🙂
I cannot wait to see this!
My husband and I saw Food, Inc. last weekend. We loved it! I especially liked how, at the end, they list small choices that you can make that will help make a difference. No, this movie is not anti-meat, (thank goodness!). It actually doesn’t show as much slaughtering as I thought it would. You only really see it happen in that one scene, with the farmer and his chickens. It is uncomfortable to see that, but I prefer that to the horrible things that they do in the “factory farms.”
Cameo, I agree…King Corn is a really great movie. That’s the one that really got my husband on board with me!
Another eye-opening series is “The Future of Food” which is available to view on You Tube. As Australia relaxes its stance on GM foods, it was timely viewing.
Kimi–Thanks so much for mentioning this movie. I want to see it and “King Corn.” And, Ali (of Whole Life Nutrition) mentioned “Home” the other day, too. These all seem like extremely thought-provoking movies.
Shirley
Oh, I’m a bit jealous! I researched all over to try to find a place where we could go and see it and I couldn’t find anything. I wonder if there’s any chance of seeing it when we’re in Seattle next weekend?? Otherwise, guess I’ll be waiting for DVD. But I’m glad to hear that you thought it was that good!