I’ve spent a lot of time during the past few years educating myself on the food I eat, and have worked hard to make ever-better, ever-wiser choices. I’m by no means vegetarian, but I eat a lot less meat than I used to. I try to shop for locally-produced and -grown goods…most of the time. And while I’ll always choose local over organic (unless I can hit both with one product), I pay attention to both labels. I’ve read The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Food Matters and Fast Food Nation. I do what I can to raise awareness through this blog and other platforms.
But tonight, I got to attend a preview of the new documentary, Food, Inc., and I watched much of it with my mouth open and my mind blown.
The movie’s prime players are the ones most folks active in food access/politics and the locavore world know: Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm, Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser. But I cried along with a mother who lost her two-and-a-half-year-old to E. Coli, and winced at the sight of industrial chicken farms and factories, and recommitted to only buying meat that’s grassfed and sourced locally.
Like An Inconvenient Truth, the movie is disturbing and absolutely clear in how it presents its opinion. But also like An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary tells its story in an engaging, gripping manner.
Due to a lateish lunch, I hadn’t grabbed dinner beforehand, and by the time the movie was over, it was pushing 10 p.m. and I needed to find something to eat near my hotel that wouldn’t offend my post-movie sensibilities. I ended up across the street at Ciudad, which serves local, organic and sustainable food wherever they can on their menu. I’m glad they came through for me, because after viewing Food, Inc., I don’t feel like I’m doing nearly enough. I can make better choices, and thanks to this movie, I am even more committed to do so when and where I can.
If you eat food, go see this movie. As a matter of fact, it’s probably more accurate to say if you think you’re eating food, go see this movie. It may be one of the most important films you’ll ever see. The movie opens in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York tomorrow, with wider release scheduled shortly thereafter.
on Jun 12th, 2009 at 7:12 am
Industrial agriculture made my family farmer dad an activist in the 60′s. I went to my first NFO meeting in 1969 to hear about Purdue & Tyson abusing chicken farmers. The speaker warned us that they were going to do the same thing to pig farmers . . . and they did in the 80′s as the farm crisis turned pig farmers into serfs on their own farms. Iowa State was at the forefront of researching and promoting the use of antibiotics as a growth agent. My feed man convinced me to add ten pounds of tetracycline to each batch of feed. I did that from 1974 to 1978. All of my farm clients used to raise their own pigs on grass lots and pastures. Now they raise corporate pigs in $500k confinement buildings that they “lease” to the corporation. They all comment that the pigs are meaner, even cannibalistic.
It sounds like Food, Inc., is going to get wide release. Good. I hope that it changes American consumers’ buying and eating habits. The Iowa Dept of Ag is finally making local food production and farmers markets a priority. I have heard that Sec. Vilsack is saying the right things. We’ll see if the USDA changes course from 1968 “Contours of Change” yearbook which touts the benefits and efficiency of industrial agriculture.
on Jun 12th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Thank you for the review. Sometimes movies are better for sharing than books. Most of our spouses’ and friends’ can find the time to watch a movie even if a book is beyond them. I’ll definitely check this one out.
on Jun 14th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
For anyone just starting to focus on industrial agriculture, read Jim Hightower’s books from the 70′s “Hard Tomatoes, Hard Times” and its sequel “Eat Your Heart Out.” They detail how the USDA and land grant colleges fostered the industrialization process.
on Jun 17th, 2009 at 6:23 am
Genie, I want to see the film but I know it’s going to be tough. As you know with two autistic kiddos I’m constantly being asked, “How did that happen?” My answer is always that we live in a toxic world. Genetics and environment are the explanation. We’ve poisoned ourselves and the road to recovery is so-o long. On the one hand thousands of dollars are spent researching the cause of countless neurological disorders and on the other thousands of dollars are spent to subsidize horrible practices that genetically alter the food we eat. I don’t maybe I’m too simplistic but you are what you eat. The food you eat, the water you drink, the air you breathe it all adds up. Combine that with any genetic pre-disposition and you’ve got problems. The root of all that is ultimately greed and no man can accuse others until they are willing to look at their own life and ask how they might play a part in that.
on Jun 18th, 2009 at 12:15 am
Tom, thanks for the book recommendations — I’ll definitely check those out. And I appreciate your on-the-ground insights from Iowa!
Greenphonebooth, I hope you do — it’s going to be a worthy way to spend your time.
Kären, I totally agree with you. The wholer the food, the better…and this movie just confirms it. It’s scary to really take a hard look at how badly we’ve poisoned ourselves and our food system…