January 2010

Film Review: Food, Inc.

By Chandra McDonald

Food, Inc., by filmmaker Robert Kenner, is a film that should be on every conscious consumer’s must-watch list. In a society where many people think that milk originates in the grocery store, Kenner reveals what’s behind the curtain between the consumer and the producer, showing us the truth about where our food comes from.

With the possible exception of water, nothing is more basic or more universal than the need for food. So, have you ever wondered why it’s cheaper to buy junk food – which is processed and packaged and shipped thousands of miles – than it is to buy fresh vegetables and fruit that are wholesome
and natural? Kenner provides a detailed answer.

This informative narrative covers the history of our food, its present mass production, and the future of our food supply. I felt overwhelmed as I tried to comprehend the extent to which a handful of companies determine what we eat. And I was shocked to discover the degree of protection these companies enjoy. Our laws and governments seem to serve the corporations first, and at the expense of our most basic human rights to safe, uncontaminated, ethically produced and sustainably harvested foods.

For instance, I learned that:

• Big fast food companies want big suppliers to fulfill their food product demands. Whereas in 1970 the top five food companies controlled 25% of the market, today the top four companies control 85% percent of the market.
• At the turn of the century an average famer could feed 6 – 8 people. Today’s farmers can feed 126 people. This is because modern industrial agriculture is designed to grow a larger amount on a smaller land mass at a cheaper price.
• In the 1950’s it took a chicken 70 days to grow and mature. But in 2008 conventionally raised chickens matured in just 28 days, in chicken coups where they never saw the sun. They were also genetically redesigned to produce larger breasts to meet today’s increased consumer demands for white meat.
• A US supermarket contains 47,000 products on average. Ninety percent of these grocery items contain corn and soy beans, which are mass produced and mass distributed food products owned entirely by one company – Monsanto.
• Monsanto has patented seeds, eliminating all of its competition. Its’ seeds are genetically modified, sold to farmers, and grown en masse with little thought to the potentially harmful side effects genetically engineered (GE) crops may have on consumers and the environment.

As the film’s title would suggest, food is big business. And Kenner shows us that within the current conventional infrastructure of industrial agriculture it’s an ugly business too. It’s ugly because it’s not accountable for its assembly line mentality, where the workers, farmers and animals are often mistreated.

The facts in the film were grim, but I didn’t lose heart because after impressing upon me the reality of conventional farming and the corporate conglomerates that run it, Kenner empowered me to affect change.

As a concerned consumer, I can choose what I eat, how it’s grown or raised, and how it’s processed before it ends up on my plate. My voice can be heard through every food purchase and every choice I make. And my demands – when combined with all of yours – will ultimately affect supply.

TAKE ACTION:

1. Watch the trailer and if you like what you see, rent the film. Get educated about what you’re eating.

2. Make your voice heard. Buy only from companies that treat workers, animals, and the environment with respect. Support businesses that have strong roots in the community and that share your values. Community Natural Foods, for example, is dedicated to encouraging a healthier, more natural way of life and offers organic foods and other sustainable lifestyle products that reflect this commitment.
3. Shop at your local farmers market and buy foods grown locally. Maintain a connection to the grower so that you can trust where your food comes from. Use your requirement for wholesome fuel for your body as an opportunity to participate in building community.
4. If and when you do go to the supermarket, choose foods that are in season. Read labels and buy products with ingredients you can pronounce and understand. Now that the curtain has been thrown open, keep the light shining on the truth about mass produced and inefficiently distributed foods and the impact they have on our bodies, our environment and our communities.
5. Plant a garden (even a small one) or planters (if you live in an apartment). Take control of your own food production in whatever way you can. Visit the experts at Greengate Garden Centre for tips on what will grow best in our climate.
6. When you eat out, support restaurants that are locally-owned and that have strong connections to the growers and producers. Talk to the staff about the menu and where the ingredients come from. Know whether they have been organically grown or sustainably harvested. For more information on what to look for, read some of the REAP archived articles on this topic.
7. If this article has whet your appetite for change, visit www.takepart.com/foodinc to discover other ways to change the world with every bite.
8. Track your actions each time you buy local, eat organic or plant something, and see the difference you are making for all of us.

1. Melissa Says:
   February 7th, 2010 at 10:42 pm

   I agree with your article. I grew up in a small Island and we produced all of our food without any chemical or fetilizer other than animal manure and we used legumes in rotation to fix nitrogen. Our cattle never consume GMO or any other chemicals they only eat grass through out their life. Our chicken are pasture raised, our pig consumed root crops and grass from our own farm. Fish is from the big clean pacific ocean, eaten fresh or dried. I enjoy producing our own food from the northern prairie in a sustainable way.

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