Food, Inc.
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Movie Reviews of Food, Inc.
Movie Review: What Are You Eating?
Summary: 5 Stars
Food, Inc. will change the way you think about food and where it comes from. This documentary on the food industry delves into the business behind food production and the dark side of farming.
A few multi-national companies control the vast amount of food production and dictate how farmers and growers run their operations. Though the documentary interviews individual farmers and workers, the huge corporations all seemed to decline to be interviewed.
The documentary shows chicken growing productions where enormous chicken houses without access to light are a primary method for producing chickens. The conditions inside the chicken houses are disgusting and chickens are packed together with little room to move. They are fed hormones and antibiotics which reduce the chick to adult gestation period from 70 to 49 days. This growth is so rapid that the internal organs and body structure are not equipped to support the chicken.
The documentary also shows enormous feed lot cattle productions where cattle are fed corn though the natural food is grass for cows. The cows stand in large amounts of their own manure which makes it much easier to spread Ecoli to the cows and sometimes ends up in the final product.
Workers at a pork processing plant in North Carolina are interviewed to discuss the poor working conditions and what seems to be uncaring nature of the company towards it's workers. The conditions for the animals when they are growing are poor as well. They are confined to a small cage rather than free to roam. It seems to be a mass production factory rather than an operation with good quality control and safety measures.
Large fast food operations such as McDonalds want virtually identical products every time and this has resulted in cookie cutter production of food instead of the production of cows, chickens, and pigs. Their high demand for identical factory animals has pushed the concepts of mass production feed lots and encourages unsanitary conditions through cost cutting.
There are now patent laws protecting specific strains of seeds which some companies have used to wield virtual monopoly power over farmers. One example mentioned in the documentary is the company Monsanto who controls 90% of all soybean production and forbids farmers from saving seed forcing them to continue purchasing seed from the company. The company resorts to strong arm tactics and regularly sues farmers and seed cleaners to further secure their monopoly under the auspices of protecting their soybean patent.
The government officials responsible for regulating the food industry often have direct ties back to the major companies so there would appear to be a strong conflict of interest in enforcing regulations.
A law called Kevin's law, named after a 2 year old who died following eating hamburger infected with Ecoli, has not become law yet but has had various versions proposed over the past 5 years. If passed this would give the USDA the ability to more closely regulate the meat and poultry industry to reduce pathogens in meat production and potentially shut down plants that breach health regulations. Feel free to contact your congress members to let them know of this proposed law.
As an alternative to mass production, examples of organic farming are presented. The animals are able to interact with each other and walk around freely similar to how they might in the wild. They eat natural foods rather than being force fed corn. A very articulate and humorous farmer name Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface Farms in Virginia, has fully embraced this style of farming and runs a very successful operation. He talks about letting chickens be chickens and allowing the pigness of pigs. Though organic food costs a bit more, proponents say it taste better and is better for the eaters health. Large corporations such as Walmart and Target have begun selling organic food and this will help with economies of scale and cost reduction.
Throughout the documentary I found myself going "woah, your kidding right?" I won't say that I'll never eat fast food again or purchase non-organic but it definitely gives pause towards thinking about where the things you're eating come from. I definitely recommend this 90 minute video to everyone wanting a behind the scenes look at the food industry.
Movie Review: The costs of "abundant cheap food" to our health and humanity
Summary: 5 Stars
This award-winning documentary along with the documentary "King Corn" had a profound effect on me and has permanently changed my lifestyle and diet. I am not a counter-culture, idealistic college student--I am a retired college professor who was in the health professions my entire career. What has happened to our food supply as a result of providing "abundant cheap food" in the U.S. since 1973 is eyeopening and a wake-up call to each of us regarding what we eat and support through our food dollars as individuals and as a nation. "Our bodies are not just what we eat but what we eat, eats". The control of U.S. agriculture by a very few large agribusiness companies; limiting the number of crops grown and varieties; the modification of seeds and trademarking life forms has implications that could prove diasterous not only to us but the entire world's food supply.
Organic foods and sustainable farming offers people an option to purchase and eat foods which are not loaded with pesticide and herbicide residues; to eat and drink dairy products, eggs and meat animals that are not loaded with growth hormones to spur production and to put weight on quickly to maximize profits of the huge companies; to decrease the potential of causing "superbugs" resistant to antibiotics caused by the administration of continuous antibiotics to keep food animals alive under unnatural and horrific conditions being fed #2 field corn (which they would never eat if allowed a normal life before slaughter for food.) Cattle evolved to eat grass, not grain and the effects on the animal are known but ignored--our beef today contains only 60% of the protein it contained in the mid 1950s thanks to meat packers wanting the highly marbled (read fat)beef. Fish farmers are even trying to get salmon and tilapia to accept #2 field corn feed. The high fructose corn syrup and other products from #2 field corn are in almost all of our grocery products on the market--even those items we do not think of as being sweet. I no longer wonder why people have such a hard time losing weight when most of us eat a diet loaded with hormones given to animals to put on weight quickly and high fructose corn syrup in almost everything we eat.
The U.S. government does not allow genetically-modified food to be labelled; as a result a number of European countries will no longer import certain foods from the U.S. since they require the labelling of genetic modification to grains, fruits and vegetables. No one (no one) knows the long term effects of using bacteria and viruses to introduce foreign genes from other species into food we eat.
The health risks and costs of "abundant cheap food"---what it has done to small family farms that did not go along with big agribusiness practices; the requirement of more and more pesticides which may be partially responsible for the abandonment of hives and death of thousands of our pollinators esp. the honey bee. Principles of organic farming which enriches the soil, is better for the farmer, farm animals and us is more expensive than what most of us have been eating everyday. As a consumer and someone concerned about the implications of standard, modern agricultural practices, I am willing to pay more for the farmer to farm organically--I support fair-trade and believe the farmer and his family need to be to support themselves and their way of life.
As a result of the documentaries my diet is now as much organic as possible; I no longer eat beef, pork, chickens, dairy or eggs produced by the big food processors. I now read labels on the food products I buy to make sure I am not ingesting sweeteners made from #2 field corn. I try to buy wild, Alaskan salmon rather than farmed or Atlantic salmon. I believe my diet is now more nutritious and tastier than ever before. My granddaughter has her master's degree in nutrition and she and her parents have also made changes in their diet from the belief that they will be healthier.
I recommend this documentary and "King Corn" to anyone interested in their health and nutrition.
Movie Review: Really makes you think about where your food comes from
Summary: 5 Stars
An excellent film that kept us interested all the way through, except I feel too much time was spent on the woman who lost a child and we fast forwarded through some of that. I am sorry for her loss but it just dragged on too long. My skeptical husband since bought the DVD and has been passing it around to friends, who now want me to raise all their chicken and pork for them :-D
Unlike PETA films this one does not try to gross you out and make you a vegetarian. There are a few short graphic scenes but rather than try to sicken you, the message they are trying to get across is how a handful of Big Ag companies control over 80% of America's food supply, and how politically powerful and nearly untouchable these companies are. It all seems very bleak, but at the end you are told how you can get better control of your own food supply... for example raise whatever you can, buy direct from the farmer at the farm or at farmers' markets, at the very least eat simpler and make as much as possible from scratch and fresh foods rather than buying prepackaged, highly processed foods.
One point I would like to make about the chickens is that they are not "forced" to grow unnaturally fast as some reviewers say... they have been BRED to grow that way. I grow the same chickens, Cornish Cross broilers, in my "back yard" (we have 10 acres). Mine spend the first three weeks in the brooder til they are feathered out, and in addition to meat bird starter get hand pulled clover and grass with dirt and roots, as well as all the fine hay bits leftover from feeding other animals. After moving to pasture pens I cut their high-powered Meat Grower feed with 25% plain scratch because in my first batch, before I cut the feed, I did have a few keel over from congestive heart failure from too-rapid growth. They also get moved to fresh grass 2-3x daily. No problems with the next two batches -- I ordered 75 chicks and was shipped 79 (a good hatchery always includes a few extras) in those batches and had only 3 die, and those within the first few days, weak ones/shipping stress. I butchered from 6 to 8 weeks of age and while I did not weigh them, visually they were almost all larger than the storebought birds which are usually 3-1/2 to 4 lbs. In fact some were Godzilla chickens, about 8-10 lbs!
I love meat and will never be vegetarian unless I am forced to it. Some people will take this movie as a call to vegetarianism. I see it as a reason to buy your food direct from the farmer who grows it, one who allows you to visit the farm personally and see how it is raised. "Organic" simply means the animal was fed organically-grown feed. The animals can still be raised in terrible conditions and their meat labelled "Organic". "Cage Free" and "Free Range" does not mean the birds are happily running around a pasture... it can mean there are still hundreds or thousands crowded at a square foot per bird into buildings, with all their food,water and shade inside so even if there is one small door to the "free range" outside they are likely not going to use it.
I want to know how my meat was raised and how it died and was processed. I am lucky in that I can raise and home butcher my own pork and chicken and buy my beef from a friend who raises her animals the same way I do. Many cities are allowing folks within the city limits to keep chickens, so anyone can now keep their own for eggs or meat. My own town has no regs against livestock at all and I know a man in the middle of town who raised a pig in his back yard last year. He does have a large lot and kept the pen scrupulously clean so the neighbors would not have any complaints about smell. Laying hens and meat birds make a lot less noise than your average dog. Just don't keep any roosters to avoid annoying the neighbors (with meat birds sex doesn't matter, they are butchered long before they begin crowing).
Movie Review: One of the most important films you'll ever watch
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been aware of Food, Inc. for some time, but watching it kept getting lost in the shuffle. Now that I've finally watched it, I'm sorry that I let it get lost in the shuffle for so long. Saying that it is one of the most important films you'll ever watch seems rather bombastic, but I'm serious about that claim. I had already begun to change my buying habits at the grocery store and to begin to consider what I am putting my body and the bodies of my children, and this film made me more convinced than ever that this is not only the right thing to do, but also the only responsible thing to do.
What was really telling for me was how the major corporations that were examined (Tyson's, Monsanto, etc.) refused to comment on the film. When we walk into a U.S. grocery store, we have certain expectations about the quality of our foods. When a film like this starts to poke holes into those illusions, and the major corporations concerned with these products refuse to comment, what should we, as consumers, think of their lack of response? The current climate in the U.S. has shown us what happens when capitalism is allowed to run amok, when the dollar becomes more important than the person who is holding it. It's not overstating things to say that what's going on in the food industry right now is every bit as alarming as what was going on in our financial institutions.
I think what this film best illustrates is how our politicians (on both sides of the aisle), our government, and the heads of the departments we've entrusted to ensure our safety (USDA, FDA, et al.) have routinely sold us out for the sake of the almighty dollar. The production of food has become so industrialized in this nation that the focus has shifted from ensuring safety to turning a blind eye in order to ensure the continued padding of the bottom line. If Upton Sinclair could see what's going on today, he would despair over how we've learned nothing from his groundbreaking work, "The Jungle".
My one issue with this film is its delicate handling of the new organic food industry. I have switched to buying mostly organic foods, but I often wonder if this really is the solution to the problem, as it claims to be. As these large organic companies (Stonyfield Farm, anyone?) start to grow to conglomerate status, do we run the risk of finding ourselves right back at square one? I think the producers should have considered taking a harder look at these companies as well.
Still, this is a film that is essential. If Americans do not stand up and demand to know where their food comes from, demand to know why current practices are accepted, we all run the risk of a public health disaster. This may sound dramatic, but one need only look at the rampant e. coli outbreaks to see that the proof is literally in the pudding. We have grown far, far too complacent about the things we put into our mouths, trusting to regulatory agencies that are no longer operating under the mandate of ensuring public safety.
The best lesson anyone can take from this film is that each and every one of us has the power. Yes, these are huge corporations that command legions of lawyers and billions of dollars in profits, but where do those profits come from? If we vote with our wallets, if we refuse to accept the presence of cloned meat and bio-engineered corn products in our foods, these companies will have no choice but to stand up and take notice. We all need to go to the grocery store, pick up a container, read the ingredients, and walk away from anything that has unnatural ingredients in it. In this way, we can all become agents for the changes we want to see effected.
Movie Review: Enough is enough, DO NOT mess with our food!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I just received the DVD in the mail and finished watching it. This is simply outrageous and incredible. One would think that this sort of irresponsible corporate behavior only happened in the 3rd world. WRONG! This is happening right here in our backyard. I am indeed surprised that Monsanto, Perdue and others have not silenced Eric Schlosser or managed to ban the DVD.
It seems that human beings NEVER LEARN. Throughout human history there have been numerous empires, a search in WIKI with the word "List of empires" will produce a huge list. Each of them thought they will be around forever. However, if someone in this century can name even five of those long gone empires, I would be impressed! The point I am trying to make is that human greed that drives these sort of practices can never last. Granted it will do a lot of damage until it is expunged, but its days are numbered.
Ask any student in high school these days, if they have heard of IBM and you will probably get a blank look. The same would be the case for General Dynamics and a host of other big behemoth corporations which have all been reduced to the status of "Also ran!" The point I am driving at is that longevity and artificially created monopolization do not mix well. They may appear to be winning for a time, but in retrospect it is always for a short duration.
I always maintain that we do not need an external power to destroy us, because we will destroy ourselves through greed! What Al Qaeda was unable to do, namely dismantling the economy of this great nation, was almost suceesfully accomplished by the "All American" big corporations such as, Lehman Bros., AIG, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Citi Corp etc
Likewise Monsanto, Perdue, Tyson, Con Agra, BPI, IBP, Smithfield and the others in the film, along with the Healthcare (Hospitals and Doctors) corporations will send everyone to an early grave through lots of suffering. However, hopefully sooner rather than later, the public will wake up and cry, "Enough!"
This film must be shown 24/7 on cable networks, made available in schools, libraries, gym, etc. Anyone who has children must make them watch this film so that they are made aware of the consequences of what they put into their mouths.
For those who are open to advice from a stranger, I suggest that they clean out their colon, eat raw living foods (sprouts, green smoothies, wheatgrass juice, fruits, seeds, uncooked food etc) and do LOTS of yoga. This is the way to a disease free life with minimum impact upon the environment and resources -- land and human suffering. This will also help reduce the cost of health care tremendously. Most importantly it will produce health and happiness in the lives of everyone who follows the advice. Any disease, manifested or gestating or seemingly incurable, will be healed. This is my greatest learning in the 51 yrs I have been on this planet! Please take action for your health while you still can. Once you slip into the jaws of the mega corporations through eating the manipluated and poisoned food, or by being operated upon by the modern butchers of medicine (doctors), it may be too late to recover from a fate worse than death!
Here is another DVD that I place in the same stellar league as this one. The name is "Healing Cancer". Even though the title implies that it deals with cancer alone, in reality the methods therein are generic enough to apply to all diseases -- chronic, degenerative and terminal. Healing Cancer