Image courtesy of www.foodincmovie.com.
“The industry doesn’t want you to know the truth about what you’re eating because if you knew, you might not want to eat it.”
Food, Inc. is a must-see film that reveal the horrors of the food industry in the United States. Starting, not surprisingly, with the McDonalds brothers, Food, Inc. shows the evolution, or rather decline, of how we as a society have reached the commercialized state that food is in today. The movie then connects the dots on how this industrialized state of food has led to a dramatic increase in disease and deaths attributed to the farming methods used to raise the meat. Showing all the players involved from the huge 4 main beef suppliers that comprise 75% of the industry to the Capitol’s hand in subsidizing corn growth and allowing genetically modified organisms (GMO) seeds to be patented, it's a startling look at how society has turned a blind eye to nutrition in search of the cheapest food possible.
One of the most shocking moments is seeing how nearly all the supplies of chicken, beef and pork come from less than a dozen supplier. This isn't just a shock-value movie like "Supersize Me" designed for those that really eat poorly, it's one that shows that although a person may think they are being healthy by not eating at a fast food restaurant, they are still buying the same poorly raised meats in the grocery store.
Food, Inc. not only talks about the dangers of these meats, they also illustrate the difficulties of personal choices through the perspective of a family that has no time to cook and is forced to eat fast food because it’s cheaper to get a hamburger than a head of broccoli. This artificially low price of food is caused by the subsidized corn industry, so basically we, as taxpayers, are paying to kill ourselves through poor nutrition. It makes you pause and think, how could this have gone on so long and what can we do to stop it?
But before omnivores write off the film as having a vegan agenda, the movie does show the other face of farming through an interview with the sustainable, Virginia-based farmer, Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm. He points out how easy and environmentally friendly it is to allow the cattle to graze naturally in pastures that they mow through eating and fertilize with their droppings. He illustrates how environmentally ineffective mass farming is with the corn that needs to be grown, harvested and shipped to these mass feed lots and then the mature that needs to be removed.
There is hope though for a brighter future. The film doesn't leave you with a gloom and doom perspective. It illustrates how all consumers vote each time they purchase food. The barcode system in grocery stores is so advanced that it’s simple to change the choices that a grocer has by only buying what is healthy, nutritious and organic.
If everyone switched to only purchasing organic foods, then the store would only carry organic food because that is what people are buying. Each person has the opportunity to make an impact simply by making healthier decisions at the grocery store.
Overall, this film is very well produced and is a must see for anyone that still eats conventional foods.
Food, Inc. opens in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco on June 12.
In the DC area, it opens on Friday, June 19 at the following theatres:
- Washington, DC: E Street Cinema
- Arlington, VA: Shirlington 7
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