Food Inc. (or what happens when governments forget that the whole point of their existence is to check the unbridled desires of parts of society)

 

You would think that after 10 years living with a food activist there wouldn’t be much you could teach me about the evils of mass-produced food, but Food Inc. clearly shows that the state of the US food industry is much worse than almost anyone could imagine. If Super-size Me put you off fast food, this may put you off eating altogether!

Stringing together interviews with well known commentators as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and contributions from players from the various stages in the American food chain, director Robert Kenner paints a truly terrifying portrait of corporate greed, intimidation, disease proliferation, and utter disregard for animals, farm workers, the environment, and consumers. One of the most telling comments comes as the camera pans over a disgustingly crowded chicken run and someone says Perdue (the food corporation) has exactly same attitude to the farm workers as to the chickens.

As is often the case, it was a woman who broke the code of omerta—all power to you Carole Morison, a brave and principled farmer. I have attached her clip above.

This is a fantastic campaigning film that is right up there with Michael Moore’s documentaries, without his rather polarizing presence. I particularly liked the final message that we as consumers ultimately have the power to change things “one bite at a time.”