Food, Inc.
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Movie Reviews of Food, Inc.
Movie Review: The consequences of greed
Summary: 5 Stars
That a movie has to be made to inform the American public where food comes from is a remarkable testament to how much life has changed in the past century.
Michael Pollun makes this point about his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, but it applies equally well to this 2008 film from Emmy award-winning producer/writer/director Robert Kenner. Food, Inc presents little revelatory to those interested in issues of health, environment, food safety, or animal welfare. What it does well is pull together many of these strands to weave an informative, non-polemical, and visually captivating introduction for the many millions not yet aware of the hidden costs of the modern food industry.
Early on in the film an agricultural engineer asks, what's wrong with maximizing yield? The answer is found in the many stories that follow but is summarized best by a free range rancher who observes that if the meat packing industry treats animals as little more than commodity, if it treats them as nothing more than a package of protein to be manipulated for profit, then it is most unlikely these same companies, these same people, have more benign or even enlightened attitudes towards employees or customers.
The CEO of Stonyfield offers a way forward that balances yield with stewardship, commerce with compassion. A lot of his like-minded friends are aghast at his "collusion" with the corporate enemy, but he reminds them that because Wal-Mart customers buy his yogurt, that much less pollution is prevented from entering the environment. Wal-Mart officials confirm they began selling organic yogurt because of consumer demand.
One aspect of the fuller story depicted only indirectly is the effect US companies and government have on food economics, policies, and consumption in countries beyond its borders. It's not just the American consumer that is getting screwed. Waistlines and diabetes are increasing in countries to which US-style fast-food, commercial food products, and food business models are exported. It also fails to mention the simplest solution for reducing greenhouse gases, deforestation, food borne illness, suffering of sentient beings, and hunger - eating more plants and eating less meat.
If you are interested in additional film resources, a few worth checking out include:
How to Cook Your Life
The Future of Food
The World According to Monsanto
Fast Food Nation
King Corn
EARTHLINGS
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Movie Review: POWER to the PEOPLE!
Summary: 5 Stars
Simply put, this is an outstanding documentary. Not only does it give the viewer an inside peek into a very unhealthy, and frightening industry, it offers consumers some steps to take toward promoting change. The bottom line is, if we do not buy inferior products, we will send a message to the food industry that we demand change. Our purchase power is our only leverage, since it is clear the government agencies are NOT on our side, and they don't have much regulatory authority, even if they were. When even Wal-Mart is now stocking some 'organic' products due to customer demand, we know we CAN be heard. In fact, we need to be even louder, as we just say, 'NO!'
This movie will leave you sickened by the amount of toxins we are ingesting, and the foods that are barren of nutritional content. The statistics regarding insulin resistance and the number of diabetics expected, in this, and the next generations, are staggering. If we look further down the road, at our already fragile health-care system, we can readily see that with these dire health predictions, due to poor nutrition, that any system, new, or old, will not be sustainable.
As the old saying goes, 'you can tell how civilized a population is by the way it treats its animals.' Well, it goes without saying, that we are failing miserably in this area. However, watching the poor, enslaved workers in these processing plants, is just as uncivilized, and, a blight against humanity.
When you finish this film, you will never put another morsel in your mouth, without thinking of the poor animals so cruelly sacrificed, the subservient farmer, those in the processing plants, the toxins ingested, or the big fat cats, who are only out to make a buck. And, don't even get me started on the soybean monopoly. This part of the story will break your heart and make you wish you could never touch soy again, in protest; but we can't avoid it---and the industry knows it. Just like we can't possibly avoid CORN, or its byproducts.
I hope this movie will make more people think about how citizens are being manipulated for the wealth of a few. It makes it clear we can make a difference, with a little work, and shedding the denial that has become our comfort zone.
We must remember, when we sit down to eat that juicy steak, that the cow didn't commit suicide for us. And, the undocumented worker, that handled the meat? He may now be in a police car, after a decade, or more, of doing a horrendous job, 'one of the most dangerous in America,' just to survive. I wouldn't doubt that they are suddenly turned in when they become burned-out and less productive, or have sustained injury. They are considered disposable. There is a dirty story behind every morsel, before it goes through our lips, for which, we must not remain ignorant.
Knowledge is power!
Movie Review: Four Hooves Up!
Summary: 5 Stars
I give this DVD 4 hooves up!.... It's a MUST see if you have any concern for your well being.
As I was watching this thought provoking DVD, deep within my soul I felt saddened and ashamed for knowing that I have contributed to a living hell for so many animals that are factory farmed for my consumption. During the movie, I had an earth shattering revelation that I was a hypocrite... I fight for animals rights and environmental causes, yet I was blindly heading to the market for my families pre-packaged, guilt-free steaks & chicken, and processed foods.
I adore all animals, and I respect their lives. I respect Mother Earth. Yet I ate meat 3-5 times a week, and had no problem serving food from a box. All my life I have been a "flexitarian", but this DVD has changed my life and my diet. Actually, it threw me over the edge. I will no longer eat meat washed in ammonia, chickens washed in chlorine, and will no longer eat from a box. How dare these huge corporations think that we are their guinea pigs... willfully feeding cows 28 million pounds of antibiotics a year that end up in our bodies, feeding these animals genetically modified corn instead of grass (or hey), serving the American public "downed cow", diseased and sick chickens, who live their entire lives in knee deep feces. Welcome to their science experiment. They do not know the short or long term effect that their practices are having on the American people consuming their products, and knowing that that they don't care is sickening as well. All the information in this DVD should have been available to us consumers years ago. These corporations should have an open door policy and yet they hide and deceive what they are doing with the food products we are sticking in our face. I am now convinced, more than ever, that these corporations are the leading cause of most of our illnesses, and our food addictions. This DVD is your wake up call people. Ask yourself, who is in charge of your life?
Know wonder these Corporation's had "no comment" for this documentary and did not want us to see the ugly truth behind their practices... no one in their right mind would think, "Um Beef... Sounds delicious!" I am so thankful that the "veil" of truth has been removed and now I can actually understand why Americans should eat organic, farm raised, free range, grass fed animals, and buy locally grown fruits and vegetables. I really get it now!
This DVD will make you sit and wonder; How could all this be true?, How could "they" allow this to go on?, Where are the food police?, and Does any one respect LIFE anymore? Is it all about the money for these corporate giants?... the answer to that one is easy to answer after viewing this wonderfully made DVD. Thank you Michael Pollan for helping me remove my blinders.
Movie Review: a must-see for every American
Summary: 5 Stars
This video was so thought provoking. So few of us have a good idea where our food comes from or how it was produced. Most of our nutrition education is limited to TV commercials selling us "healthy" fast food or "natural" factory-farmed fat-filled meat products. And then we wonder why America is the fattest country in the world. It's true that about 1 in 3 American kids born today will end up with Diabetes Type 2 at some point. DM Type 2 isn't just something annoying that prevents you from eating cookies: it's a terrible disease, a top cause of blindness & amputations, and a very high risk for cardiovascular/HTN problems. Just like the family in the video illustrated DM Type 2 is very costly to control. Their medications were "hundreds" of dollars a month. Yet they continue to eat fast-food at most meals. What they don't understand is that $200-$300 a month goes a long way into buying healthy food choices. Food can be prepared in advance, then frozen, so time is no excuse. People just aren't educated on what not to eat. And when the only ads we see are from big agri-business, no wonder we're confused?
I am deeply troubled by the increasing food industry power. They've already taken away 1st Amendment rights: it's now illegal to openly discuss food production/industry topics (even if they're TRUE), if the discussion hurts the corporation's sales figures. How is this even constitutional? This is the same government who has cut USDA inspections down to a fraction of what they were decades ago, even though population and food intake only goes up.
I also am troubled that in light of the role of lifestyle in health, that nobody is talking about diet during our current healthcare debates. Why didn't part of the new Health Care bill touch on things brought up in this movie? And why are my tax dollars being used to provide feed corn to feedlots at below market cost? Corn has been so cheap that people are even burning it to heat their homes (corn stoves). How about we stop wasting tax money on corn and if we want to subsidize something that counts, we use it only for healthy food choices such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, foods free of HFCS, non-factory-farmed animal products, etc.
The movie is interesting. I think if you buy it for your whole family to watch, you won't get bored. It is thought provoking. I first watched it on Netflix and it was so good, I ordered a copy from Amazon to share with my friends. People need to know this stuff. It's true: you are what you eat.
Movie Review: A Must See Movie for Anyone Who Eats Food
Summary: 5 Stars
Food, Inc. is valuable viewing for anyone who eats or feeds their family. The documentary is well made, and really serves as an introduction to the current food production practices that dictate the supply chain of the modern diet. In this video, you will learn:
1. That marketing of food products is very misleading. Most marketing attempts to present a wholesome and agrarian image leading consumers to believe that their foods come from natural and beautiful farms. Yet in reality most food comes from extremely unpleasant, and oftentimes barbaric, food factories.
2. Corporatization in a consumer society is destroying quality of life. When nothing matters but the bottom line and decisions are made in board rooms thousands of miles away from actual sites, where the primary concern is profit, quality goes out the window. Even worse, we begin to view living creatures as nothing but a collection of molecules that can and should be manipulated to maximize profit in the shortest amount of time, with total disregard to the pain and suffering caused to them. Consequently, it becomes accepted practice to subject them to a miserable and unnatural life, pump them with hormones and antibiotics, mutilate and hurt them callously, and so on. This in turn leads us to perceive fellow human beings in the same way, and the world in general as simply raw material that needs to be harvested for immediate gain by the most powerful. Classic corollary of merciless Darwinian thinking...
3. It's not all doom and gloom. YOU have the power to make choices that will force multi-national corporations to change their practices by necessity. Educating yourself and your family, with information such as in this documentary, is critical to not only saving yourself and your loved ones from misery and victimhood out of ignorance, but in also creating global change. A great case study is presented in Food, Inc. where the largest retailer in the world, Walmart, has now chosen to carry organic and hormone-free products because their consumers have chosen it.
4. Much more. There are lots of other topics and lessons one can gleam from this, and by making simple changes in the way we live and in the choices we make, we can begin returning to a more natural, fulfilling life. This is essential for future generations, for our children. Do we really want to pass onto them the world we inherited, where they are being exploited and manipulated out of ignorance? It's up to us to create change. Now is the time.
Enjoy!