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Food Inc
Rating: 6/10
Director: Robert Kenner
It's no surprise that at a time when sustainability and the grow your own ideals continue to permeate our society, we should get a doco about the truth about the foods Americans buy at their supermarkets.
In Food Inc, that's precisely what Robert Kenner does as he looks at what is consumed these days, how it's produced and what the personal cost is.
With input from Fast Food Nation's author Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan who wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma, the veil on the industry is lifted.
I imagine for most of us here in New Zealand the revelations contained within Food Inc won't shock a lot of people - it's no surprise that mega companies now control the majority of food production.
However, what is shown on screen doesn't lose any of its impact - amid graphics, we learn of the personal horrors being committed by the mega businesses as they try and stop the family farm from growing.
The cheap factory mentality manifests itself as you see how one farmer's being prosecuted for helping other farmers save seed - his actions and desire to prove his innocence have led to years of court cases, which he can't ever win - it's continuing proof that the odds are stacked against the Davids in this fight against Goliath.
One particular case, halfway through, is designed to emotionally stir you up - a young child who was diagnosed with haemorragic e-coli from meat and unfortunately died. While the doco makers could have used this as their trump card, it's a sensitive portrayal of the fight of the family to get the law changed and to make a difference as well as have some good come from tragedy.
Food Inc's broken down into three sections - first, it covers the industrial production of meat; secondly, it's about grains and vegetables and finally, about the pesticide industry.
All of the major companies talked about in this film obviously refuse to appear so it's fair to say while the doco isn't biased, it certainly doesn't have both sides of the argument represented.
That said, Food Inc presents a compelling case which you feel
engrossed in throughout - it throws up several issues which, if
you're not already aware of them, may shock you into wanting to do
something to break the mega-corp influence. Hopefully this film may
start to see some kind of change implemented - and is proof that if
ever you thought people power can't start something, you're
wrong.
