Nothing is more important than the food and drink we put in our bodies. But where does that food come from, and what goes into it? These are the unsettling questions that director Robert Kenner asks in his documentary, Food Inc.
Based on Eric Schlosser's bestselling book Fast Food Nation and Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (both authors get plenty of on-screen time), the film takes a hard look at the shadier practices of the food industry. Whether it's abusing illegal workers, ignoring potentially fatal E.coli contamination, forcing farmers into debt slavery, or running potential competitors out of business, Food Inc. claims this group of food cartels acts more like the Mafia than law-abiding corporate citizens.
Magnolia Films' Food Inc. Features Eric Schlosser, Michael Pollan
The film's first argument is simple: current food processing methods are inhumane, environmentally and economically unstable, plus hazardous to consumers' health.
Take corn: the filmmakers show how scientists perfected a cheap, fertile breed of maize. Farmers grew massive surpluses, selling it to ranchers who had an inexpensive way to get their cows fat. Food manufacturers used corn in all sorts of cheap, fatty foods, undercutting healthier alternatives and driving America's obesity epidemic.
In addition, food manufacturers flooded 3rd World markets with cheap produce, driving local farmers out of business.
However, there's been a heavy cost. Since there's only one breed, the entire crop is susceptible to a single disease (biodiversity's a good idea, folks). Not only that, grain-fed cattle, whose bodies couldn't handle the starch, often got sick. To compensate, farmers dosed the grain with antibiotics, which killed 98% of disease-causing bacteria.
However, the bacteria that didn't die got stronger. According to the film, 73,000 Americans a year get sick from E.coli O157:H7 poisoning, with 5,000 fatalities. The viewer meets Barbara Kowalcyk, whose 2-year-old son Kevin died in 2001 after eating an E.coli-tainted hamburger. Her food safety bill, dubbed Kevin's Law, has stagnated in Congress despite the support of both Republican and Democratic representatives.
The corn surplus has had an international effect. When rising fuel prices created shortages of North American corn – with local producers already out of business – food riots broke out out in several 3rd World countries.
The film's second major argument shows how the food processing industry buses illegal immigrants across from Mexico (many of whom were former farmers, driven bankrupt by cheap American corn) to work under appalling conditions in slaughterhouses, occasionally offering them as sacrificial lambs to police when anti-immigration sentiment gets too high. In addition, they nickel-and-dime American farmers into virtual penury through rules against stockpiling seeds and demands for constant "upgrades" to their farms.
Far from being a PETA-style rant, Food Inc. makes its case logically, based on old-fashioned investigative journalism. While all the food manufacturers declined to be interviewed, they've since set up advocacy websites like SafeFoodInc.org to try to refute the charges in this movie.
What's the Solution?
Those looking for carnivore condemnation won't find it here. Schlosser admits his love for hamburgers, and Pollan is open about being an omnivore (those who eat both animal and vegetable matter). Instead, Food Inc. recommends hunting for organic alternatives: shopping at farmer's markets, supporting local butchers, and only buying food that's been shipped locally. It may cost more, but the filmmakers argue the peace of mind is worth it.
Food Inc. features images of organic farmers slaughtering chickens that might unsettle delicate sensibilities. Then again, if that sort of thing bothers you, why are you eating meat? Despite the blunt depiction of farmhouse slaughtering, it's nothing compared to the hidden video taken by anonymous workers who toil in the large slaughterhouses. The way the animals are processed is nothing compared to the miserable conditions those workers have to go through.
The Final Analysis
According to Food Inc., the food processing companies are desperately trying to keep their more disreputable practices under wraps, much like the tobacco lobby did in the previous century. Unfortunately for them, this film digs deep for embarrassing details. Much like Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and Morgan Spurlock's film Super Size Me, Food Inc. presents a damning case against the food industry and seemingly an irrefutable one.
Food Inc. not only identifies the problem with Big Food but also gives consumers a fool-proof method of combating them: voting with your dollars. It gets a 9/10.
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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