Food Inc. is the new brilliant documentary which should shock all Americans about what has become of our food supply. It begins with the camera slowly panning through a supermarket, focusing on row after row of sanitized food products. The point is made that there are only a few multi-national corporations who actually produce the vast majority of food products seen on our supermarket shelves today. They seek to lull a complacent public into believing that the food we eat is wholesome and is produced in the simple spirit of our agrarian forefathers. Of course, we soon see that their marketing seeks to cover up a much more sinister reality.
Food Inc. first focuses on chicken production. The filmmakers got a hold of one chicken producer who raises chickens for Tyson Foods, perhaps the largest poultry provider in the country. The chicken producer was more than willing to show his behind-the scenes-operation until he was told by Tyson to shut up. It's obvious they didn't want him to show how the chickens were raised—thousands of them shut up in a building devoid of sunlight and being fed with cheap corn products to fatten them up. Today's chickens were contrasted with the chickens of yesteryear and today they are twice the size. They were able to interview a woman who raised chickens for Perdue. She apparently was fed up and refused to go along with Perdue's directives to raise her chickens using mass production techniques. But even with her more humane efforts, many of her chickens were dying due to antibiotic resistance. The woman herself indicated that she had developed health problems as a result of contact with these antibiotics. One of the film's revelations I wasn't aware of, was that these small businessmen are at the mercy of the conglomerates and if they don't do what they say, they'll be put out of business.
Another segment involves a food safety crusader who lost her three year old to E Coli contamination after eating a tainted hamburger. She sponsors "Kevin's Law", named after her fallen son but gets little support in Congress due to the lobbying efforts of the food industry who have prevented passage of the bill.
More shocking revelations abound including an extended segment on just how pervasive corn has not only been utilized as a cheap source of food for livestock (leading to the proliferation of manure that gets into our food supply) but also how it's used to create new processed food with little nutritional value. We also meet a lower middle-class Hispanic family who can't avoid eating fast food even though they're aware how unhealthy it is for them. The father is suffering from early onset Diabetes which is becoming one of the fastest growing health problems linked to eating unhealthy meals of processed food. The family not only doesn't have the time to shop for better foods but they don't have the money—so they end up going to McDonald's instead.
Immigrant workers are also exploited by the multinationals who used to recruit farmers in Mexico who could no longer compete against the big food producers in the U.S. They shipped the workers here in droves where they're now economically dependent on these corporations despite working in horribly unsanitary conditions. Now with anti-immigrant sentiment running wild, a few token workers are rounded up everyday to appease the public and the corporations are never charged with hiring illegal help.
The most shocking information we learn is the role of Monsanto Corporation monopolizing the soybean market. As a result of a Supreme Court decision, Monsanto now holds a 'patent' on their genetically modified soybean. They've ended up destroying the careers of small farmers by suing them for violation of their patents (Monsanto's soybean ends up as part of the farmers' crop so they're accused of infringement). What's worse is the long line of government officials, former Monstanto employees, who are now (and have been) in the highest positions in the Food and Drug Administration responsible for food safety oversight. Ten years ago, there were 50,000 food safety inspections a year—last year the FDA only authorized 9,000. And these officials weren't only appointed during the Bush administration. President Clinton also had a healthy share of these former Monsantoites working at the FDA.
While Monsanto is clearly the biggest villain among many, Food Inc. attempts to highlight more productive people in the 'system'. One interview focuses on an organic livestock producer who feeds his cattle grass and not corn. While it's clear he treats his livestock better than the conglomerates, I'm not a believer in the idea of 'compassionate slaughter'. Why eat meat at all? There's also an interview with the president of Stonyfield Farms, famous for organic yogurt. He ended up selling out to Walmart but he feels it was a good thing since 'better' products were made available to the public on a mass scale. Again, the sale of any kind of dairy products (organic or not) is not a good thing in the long run for one's health.
Food Inc. attempts to end on an optimistic note. It's up to the consumer to choose more healthy food. The example of successful consumer action is cited in the case of the tobacco industry which was brought down after the public woke up to the deleterious effects of its products. Until the public is willing to look behind the veil of unhealthy food production in this country, they will continue to enjoy bad meals at McDonald's and other nefarious 'restaurants'. Food Inc. is one of those rare documentaries which can open peoples' eyes—and that's not easy to do!
Food Inc. first focuses on chicken production. The filmmakers got a hold of one chicken producer who raises chickens for Tyson Foods, perhaps the largest poultry provider in the country. The chicken producer was more than willing to show his behind-the scenes-operation until he was told by Tyson to shut up. It's obvious they didn't want him to show how the chickens were raised—thousands of them shut up in a building devoid of sunlight and being fed with cheap corn products to fatten them up. Today's chickens were contrasted with the chickens of yesteryear and today they are twice the size. They were able to interview a woman who raised chickens for Perdue. She apparently was fed up and refused to go along with Perdue's directives to raise her chickens using mass production techniques. But even with her more humane efforts, many of her chickens were dying due to antibiotic resistance. The woman herself indicated that she had developed health problems as a result of contact with these antibiotics. One of the film's revelations I wasn't aware of, was that these small businessmen are at the mercy of the conglomerates and if they don't do what they say, they'll be put out of business.
Another segment involves a food safety crusader who lost her three year old to E Coli contamination after eating a tainted hamburger. She sponsors "Kevin's Law", named after her fallen son but gets little support in Congress due to the lobbying efforts of the food industry who have prevented passage of the bill.
More shocking revelations abound including an extended segment on just how pervasive corn has not only been utilized as a cheap source of food for livestock (leading to the proliferation of manure that gets into our food supply) but also how it's used to create new processed food with little nutritional value. We also meet a lower middle-class Hispanic family who can't avoid eating fast food even though they're aware how unhealthy it is for them. The father is suffering from early onset Diabetes which is becoming one of the fastest growing health problems linked to eating unhealthy meals of processed food. The family not only doesn't have the time to shop for better foods but they don't have the money—so they end up going to McDonald's instead.
Immigrant workers are also exploited by the multinationals who used to recruit farmers in Mexico who could no longer compete against the big food producers in the U.S. They shipped the workers here in droves where they're now economically dependent on these corporations despite working in horribly unsanitary conditions. Now with anti-immigrant sentiment running wild, a few token workers are rounded up everyday to appease the public and the corporations are never charged with hiring illegal help.
The most shocking information we learn is the role of Monsanto Corporation monopolizing the soybean market. As a result of a Supreme Court decision, Monsanto now holds a 'patent' on their genetically modified soybean. They've ended up destroying the careers of small farmers by suing them for violation of their patents (Monsanto's soybean ends up as part of the farmers' crop so they're accused of infringement). What's worse is the long line of government officials, former Monstanto employees, who are now (and have been) in the highest positions in the Food and Drug Administration responsible for food safety oversight. Ten years ago, there were 50,000 food safety inspections a year—last year the FDA only authorized 9,000. And these officials weren't only appointed during the Bush administration. President Clinton also had a healthy share of these former Monsantoites working at the FDA.
While Monsanto is clearly the biggest villain among many, Food Inc. attempts to highlight more productive people in the 'system'. One interview focuses on an organic livestock producer who feeds his cattle grass and not corn. While it's clear he treats his livestock better than the conglomerates, I'm not a believer in the idea of 'compassionate slaughter'. Why eat meat at all? There's also an interview with the president of Stonyfield Farms, famous for organic yogurt. He ended up selling out to Walmart but he feels it was a good thing since 'better' products were made available to the public on a mass scale. Again, the sale of any kind of dairy products (organic or not) is not a good thing in the long run for one's health.
Food Inc. attempts to end on an optimistic note. It's up to the consumer to choose more healthy food. The example of successful consumer action is cited in the case of the tobacco industry which was brought down after the public woke up to the deleterious effects of its products. Until the public is willing to look behind the veil of unhealthy food production in this country, they will continue to enjoy bad meals at McDonald's and other nefarious 'restaurants'. Food Inc. is one of those rare documentaries which can open peoples' eyes—and that's not easy to do!