Food, Inc. is a film directed by Robert Kenner. It focuses on the issues that are present in our current food system in the United States and how the food system has changed overtime. The main topic of the film seems to be industrialization. This film breaks industrialization into sub topics such as fast food chains and GMOs. Two more important topics that are touched upon are health and affordability of food.
The film opens with how supermarkets are giving customers a false image of what they are receiving. When you walk around a grocery store you will see pictures, paintings and labels with farmers. There are phrases such as "straight from the farm" written everywhere. But in reality that food is not coming from the classic farmer that customers are made to believe they are coming from. Another problem with supermarkets that the film discusses, is the year round availability of vegetables. There are certain seasons that different vegetables are available. However, the supermarket overshadows that by having all vegetables available at all times during the year. This is because of GMOS, a topic that will be further discussed later on.
Farms are not what they used to be because of industrialization. The film shows footage of many "farms" that they visited. What used to be farms, have now been transformed into mass producing factories. A few companies are controlling the food system. The film states that "In the 1970's, the top five beef packers controlled twenty five percent of the market. Today, the top four control over eighty percent of the market." The top few companies are controlling the entire meat industry and changing how the animals are raised. The food we are consuming is becoming more and more dangerous. Fast food chains are bigger than ever and in turn they need large suppliers.
The film visits the farm of a man named Vince who has a poultry house for Tyson. They are kept in a poultry house with no lighting. Tyson would not allow him to let the camera crew in, probably because they knew if the public saw how they treated their animals then they would boycott their products. The next farm they visited was of a woman named Carole, who is a Purdue farmer. She allowed them to go inside the poultry house which was an open style house so the chickens could have fresh air and light. However, she describes the space as dirty and she says it's "not farming, it's mass production."
While industrial farms are becoming a norm, there are still farmers who stick to traditional farming. This allows people to have the option to purchase their products from a local farmer who doesn't have to farm the way a larger company wants them to farm. Joel Salatin is an example of this. He is one of the few local farmers left that are sticking to traditional values of their product, customers, and what happens to them. The film points out that the FDA is conducting less inspection than they used to. The FDA and USDA are supposed to be enacting laws to ensure that the food we are consuming is safe. As shown through this film, this isn't necessarily the case. This is what leads into how the food system is affecting our health. This brings up the question: can we really trust our government to enact laws that will protect our health? When you take a close look at the food system you begin to wonder if the main priority is to provide us with healthy and affordable food, or if it is to do whatever they have to do to make the most money. There has been an increase in the amount of e col breakouts. Instead of e col showing up in meat, it has begun to show up in vegetables such as spinach as well. The way people are eating is also causing them to be vulnerable to other diseases such as diabetes. The film states that one in three children born after 2000 will get diabetes, and one in two minority children will get diabetes. Barbara Kowalcyk is a food safety advocate who is trying to push the USDA to force companies to make sure the food we consume is safe for us. Her son had died from an e col infection. She now wants to make sure that food standards are set in place so something like this doesn't happen again. The film interviews a family about the food they eat. They eat fast food more often than not because of the affordability. It is easier for people to purchase fast food because most of the items are around one-three dollars. While vegetables and other organic healthy foods have high prices, making it harder for people to easily purchase them. The family in the movie made a point that you can buy something from a fast food restaurant for ninety nine cents, but you can't buy broccoli for ninety nine cents. It's a sad truth, but our food system has made it highly difficult for people to be able to buy organic or healthier food items. GMOs tie into everything else that the film has discussed. To start off, GMOs are a product of industrialization. Because factories are mass producing, they are injecting crops with different chemicals to make them grow the way they want them to grow. Corn is one of the main crops that is genetically modified. You can find some form of corn in many products that you wouldn't expect to find it in. For example, corn can be found in ketchup. Overall, this film will educate you on the current state of our food system. It opens your eyes to the many problems that exist within the food industry. The film does have gruesome footage. It was hard for me to watch at some points because of the blood and the butchering scenes of the animals.
The film opens with how supermarkets are giving customers a false image of what they are receiving. When you walk around a grocery store you will see pictures, paintings and labels with farmers. There are phrases such as "straight from the farm" written everywhere. But in reality that food is not coming from the classic farmer that customers are made to believe they are coming from. Another problem with supermarkets that the film discusses, is the year round availability of vegetables. There are certain seasons that different vegetables are available. However, the supermarket overshadows that by having all vegetables available at all times during the year. This is because of GMOS, a topic that will be further discussed later on.
Farms are not what they used to be because of industrialization. The film shows footage of many "farms" that they visited. What used to be farms, have now been transformed into mass producing factories. A few companies are controlling the food system. The film states that "In the 1970's, the top five beef packers controlled twenty five percent of the market. Today, the top four control over eighty percent of the market." The top few companies are controlling the entire meat industry and changing how the animals are raised. The food we are consuming is becoming more and more dangerous. Fast food chains are bigger than ever and in turn they need large suppliers.
The film visits the farm of a man named Vince who has a poultry house for Tyson. They are kept in a poultry house with no lighting. Tyson would not allow him to let the camera crew in, probably because they knew if the public saw how they treated their animals then they would boycott their products. The next farm they visited was of a woman named Carole, who is a Purdue farmer. She allowed them to go inside the poultry house which was an open style house so the chickens could have fresh air and light. However, she describes the space as dirty and she says it's "not farming, it's mass production."
While industrial farms are becoming a norm, there are still farmers who stick to traditional farming. This allows people to have the option to purchase their products from a local farmer who doesn't have to farm the way a larger company wants them to farm. Joel Salatin is an example of this. He is one of the few local farmers left that are sticking to traditional values of their product, customers, and what happens to them. The film points out that the FDA is conducting less inspection than they used to. The FDA and USDA are supposed to be enacting laws to ensure that the food we are consuming is safe. As shown through this film, this isn't necessarily the case. This is what leads into how the food system is affecting our health. This brings up the question: can we really trust our government to enact laws that will protect our health? When you take a close look at the food system you begin to wonder if the main priority is to provide us with healthy and affordable food, or if it is to do whatever they have to do to make the most money. There has been an increase in the amount of e col breakouts. Instead of e col showing up in meat, it has begun to show up in vegetables such as spinach as well. The way people are eating is also causing them to be vulnerable to other diseases such as diabetes. The film states that one in three children born after 2000 will get diabetes, and one in two minority children will get diabetes. Barbara Kowalcyk is a food safety advocate who is trying to push the USDA to force companies to make sure the food we consume is safe for us. Her son had died from an e col infection. She now wants to make sure that food standards are set in place so something like this doesn't happen again. The film interviews a family about the food they eat. They eat fast food more often than not because of the affordability. It is easier for people to purchase fast food because most of the items are around one-three dollars. While vegetables and other organic healthy foods have high prices, making it harder for people to easily purchase them. The family in the movie made a point that you can buy something from a fast food restaurant for ninety nine cents, but you can't buy broccoli for ninety nine cents. It's a sad truth, but our food system has made it highly difficult for people to be able to buy organic or healthier food items. GMOs tie into everything else that the film has discussed. To start off, GMOs are a product of industrialization. Because factories are mass producing, they are injecting crops with different chemicals to make them grow the way they want them to grow. Corn is one of the main crops that is genetically modified. You can find some form of corn in many products that you wouldn't expect to find it in. For example, corn can be found in ketchup. Overall, this film will educate you on the current state of our food system. It opens your eyes to the many problems that exist within the food industry. The film does have gruesome footage. It was hard for me to watch at some points because of the blood and the butchering scenes of the animals.