Food, Inc.

Directed by: Robert Kenner

Starring: Gary Hirshberg

Genre: Documentary

Run Time: 94 min.

Release Date: June 2009

On The Web: Official Site

Teaser: Movie Trailer

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

Although highly informative and essential viewing for those interested in where, how and what’s going on with the food that lands on their dinner table, FOOD, INC. follows in the footsteps (often lockstep) of another interesting treatise on American corporate food culture, THE FUTURE OF FOOD.

Essentially, The Future of Food focused more directly on the Monsanto Company and how the first patent on a living thing (seeds) has changed the face of agriculture. Food, Inc. similarly rehashes this theme and includes the same information regarding Monsanto’s strong arm tactics in keeping their patented seeds out of the hands of farmers who haven’t purchased it. The problem, though, is you can’t control the wind, and when seeds fall off trucks, or a few fly from one field to another, there’s no way farmers can control it. And this is where Monsanto has done the unthinkable: they’ve built a group of strongmen attorneys to go after those farmers who’s crops show Monsanto seeds, but haven’t purchased them (nor tried to steal them, I might add). This strong arming has resulted in farmers being dragged through the court system at tremendous expense. And when you’re David fighting Goliath, the odds are not in your favor if it takes two years to get to court and your attorney fees begin mounting.

But where we begin to diverge in the two films (The Future of Food versus Food, Inc.) is in the meat department. Food, Inc. delves much more into the problems with the mass production of chickens, beef, and pigs (the three main meat staples) and how we’ve modified these creatures to fit our increasingly bad appetites and diets. Tyson Foods is one of the largest suppliers of chicken meat (you’ve probably seen their labels at your local store), but did you know that the chicken you’re eating was born, grew and slaughtered in less than three months? And that the chicken you’re forking into your mouth right now could probably only stand up, taking two or three steps, then collapse into a panting, feathered heap? Do you know why? Watch this film and learn.

Another alarming trend is in beef industry where cattle are no longer allowed to graze, but are held in pens, wandering around on piles of manure, and being fed corn. Why? Because corn puts weight on much faster, but it also causes certain intestinal bacteria to flourish and, maybe mutate. Want to know why we’ve had so many E. Coli outbreaks in the past few decades? Watch this film and connect the dots.

The brightest part of this film is that it is not anti-meat; it’s anti-corporation. Big time. But only when it comes to our food. It wants you to learn why it’s so important to shop at your local farmer’s market. Why foods that are out of season are out of season for a reason. Why corn has become so pervasive in our diets (and what its doing to our food and, in consequence, to us). Why free-range meat is much better for you (including the bacteria count). It wants to know why you’re not asking why.

This is a good eye-opener for those who eat at McDonald’s every week (or day) and to those of us who shop at Piggly Wiggly or Safeway. Check out the meat before you bite into it.

Even though Food, Inc. gave some good (but repetitive) information, it was a bit long. I think the film makers could’ve gotten away with about 15 minutes less time and made it just as effect in getting its message across. Still, I’m looking more closely at my food, which is what they want you to do.

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Image from Food, Inc.

DVD cost: $26.36

Purchase: Tower.com (Blu-Ray)

Film Review Stew Favorite? Yes.

Stew Poo-Poo? No.

Newsworthy: Chipotle, the "fast food" mexican restaurant, is featured as one of the places in American food culture where one can get a meal based on sustainability.

Movie Quote: "There are no seasons in the American supermarket. Now there are tomatoes all year round, grown halfway around the world, picked when it was green, and ripened with ethylene gas. Although it looks like a tomato, it's kind of a notional tomato. I mean, it's the idea of a tomato."

Other Actors/Actresses from Food, Inc.

Images from Food, Inc.