Farmer John has died and a corporation killed him. That's the premise of Robert Kenner's eye-opening documentary. What humans eat has changed more dramatically in the past 50 years than it has in all of human existence.
Processed foods are everywhere. On an evolutionary level, humans respond to sugar, salt and fat, which are the chief ingredients in our fast food diets. It's also more easily available and cheaper than ever before, creating a situation where biological urges to eat whenever food is available supports a detriment to our health. This vicious circle is driven by the corporate desire to increase profits and thus executive salaries.
The corn industry, supported by government subsidies, has exploded in recent years. More than 85% of all products in the supermarket have corn in them. Corn is so cheap now, it's the number one feed for our animals. Cows have had to be trained to eat corn instead of grass. Most meat produced in this country comes from four major corporations. Cows and chickens are raised in confined cages where they are rarely exposed to light, standing in their own feces. All of this has led to the increase in cases of E Coli poisoning. Instead of addressing the real problems, which would disrupt the quick meat turn around, the corporations started treating meat with ammonia to kill diseases. Ever wonder why you can get tomatoes in December now? It's because they are picked green and ripened with gases.
The U.S. government ruled in the 1990s that genetically modified crops could be patented. Monsanto developed a Round-Up weed killer resistant soybean seed. Its seed quickly became the standard for farms. And the rules to use their seed are strictly monitored. Farmers are not allowed to save seeds to use the next year. Even farmers who are using natural seeds are being sued because modified seeds are blowing from adjacent farms into their fields. Few farmers have the ability to fight because they don't have the money to win against a corporation that can drown them in legal fees.
The food companies have so much power that in some states it is illegal to print pictures of meat packing facilities. If farmers disagree with the living conditions the corporations demand, the corporations just pull their contract from those rebellious farmers. An activist mother, whose son died after eating an E Coli infected hamburger, won't even talk about how she handles meat in her home for fear of being sued. Remember the meat industry sued Oprah. She won, but she has Oprah's money.
As hopeless as the film makes changing the food industry seem, there is some light offered. The rise in the popularity of organics has moved big corporations like Wal-Mart to sell growth hormone free milk and carry other organic foods. While the documentary glorifies organics without addressing its faults, the film does not paint organics as a cure all. It actually argues for buying local. One independent farmer shows how he lets his cows graze and chickens run free. He makes a convincing argument for how it's not too hard to see how viewing a pig as a product can lead to the poor treatment of employees and customers. Because of the speed and amount of meat processed in modern meat packing plants, it has gone from a good job to one of the most dangerous. The solution to this problem is to bus in illegal immigrants. They don't complain when their fingernails fall off.
Like Michael Moore's CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY, this is another documentary that shows how rampant greed is destroying America. When the health of its citizens becomes less important than the profits of its corporations, a country has gorged itself for too long.
Buy "Food, Inc." on Blu-ray Here!
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
