Movie Review: Food, Inc.

Updated September 7, 2014.

"Food, Inc.", the new documentary directed by Robert Kenner, begins with the sentence. More Later in the film, it was stressed that one of the most important changes in what we eat, is that our food was flooded "The way we eat has more radically in the last 50 years than in the last 10,000 years not changed "with sugar and other refined carbohydrates. "Food, Inc." is on the way these and other changes have been made to be, and the state of the current food system unknown.

Weave a web of stories about our food system

Why this story is little known, a story in itself. In 100 years of radical do not know where our foods come from - that's exactly how the big food corporations want.

Most of Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food), "Food, Inc." told from different locations in the "food chain" was initiated. We see the views of farmers, workers and consumers, among others. It identified a number of issues of food production, such as workplace safety, food safety and food labeling discussed. One of the strengths of the film, that instead of just talking about it, going to the right side in the field with farmers in the grocery store with a poor family trying to put food on the table, and in the parks fattening and slaughter houses (sometimes with the use of hidden cameras). Moreover, while it is true that the film shows the endangered animals, please do not use as a reason not to see the film. You can always close your eyes for these items if necessary (although I do not recommend).

Large companies take power

The film notes that the system almost from the United States, all food is now in the hands of very few companies. For example, in 1970 six companies produce 20% to 25% of the meat consumed in the United States today, to create four companies 80% of the meat. Where there were thousands of slaughterhouses in the country, there are 13 One problem with this is that if something goes wrong, such as pollution, a large amount of food. Another reason is that the food is more and more transports. It turns out that the centralized system is food, it is vulnerable and fragile.

The film also focus on how the consolidation of food production affects farmers. A chicken farmer wanted the farm in a "good old days", where the light to keep in the barns. Was cut. Another farmer described how large companies keep their debt requires farmers with very little real income by accumulating more and more.

Some companies, such as Monsanto, systematically eliminated most of the farmers who are their competitors through expensive litigation. So they took control of more than 80% of the soybean crop in the United States in only 11 years.

Large government subsidies for corn, wheat and soybeans are used to maintain the system, so that food companies put people in key positions in government, including the FDA. Therefore, we have a lot of cheap, fast, available carbohydrate, but the expensive broccoli.

The positive side - And the power that we exercise

But this movie is not just dark. Across America, people will begin to make changes, and the film makes a great point that "we for the food system we want to vote three times a day." These changes in consumer demand, obtained for example from organic food Walmart. (We meet farmer meeting with Walmart executives who are eager to admit that he was boycotting Walmart for years.)

A farmer who was liked Joel Salatin, whose Polyface Farm is The Omnivore's Dilemma in the book. Wishes I had the director more used by the to their cattle on land convert system shown presented, followed a few days later for their Campers on The advantage of the animals and the earth.

The film ends with a large number of steps we can take to support our local food economy, to write our representatives in Congress. We are far from being in this situation, but if we gave them power, the current system of food production (which have a negative impact on the whole world) is not allowed to just keep growing.

Often, when a film is as "important" a lot of people run in the other direction. But if you read this far, chances are someone who really wants to know where the food you get in your body. And in fact, it is difficult to think much more important than that for me.

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