Editor’s Note: Students in Professor Sam Pritchard’s English 106 class reviewed the documentary film “Food Inc.” as part of a class assignment. Two of the reviews are printed here.
By Michael Aldeman Guest Columnist You are what you eat. If this is true, we are the result of one of the most corrupt enterprises known to man. According to the documentary “Food Inc.”, we are unaware of where our food comes from. Michael Pollan, the author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food,” and Eric Schlosser, the author of “Fast Food Nation,” point the finger at large meat-processing companies and agribusiness firms as the culprits behind the disgusting filth that we know as the food system. Critically acclaimed filmmaker, Robert Kenner, makes an honest effort to show a multitude of different angles into the mystery of food production. From struggling farmers under the control of Monsanto to the mother who lost a child to coli poisoning, the documentary shows the impact our food system has on our country. The different experiences, stories, ideas, and values portrayed in the film blend together to form answers to the question; do we know where our food comes from? I grew up on a small acreage in a predominantly rural area, which has given me a much more conservative and pro-agriculture frame of mind. I instinctively jump to the defense of agricultural processing because of my personal ties to the industry. While I may not totally agree with the consistent liberal views of the documentary, I am compelled to acknowledge that it successfully shows that we do not truly understand where our food comes from. The film is successful because it sheds a light on the darkness of the food production industry by showing us how our eating choices and methods of food production have negative consequences. It asks us to make better choices in the food we consume and purchase, to live a healthier lifestyle “Food Inc.” displays the disorder and controversy that shadows over the contents of our dinner plates. A wide spectrum of food production issues is brought to the forefront throughout “Food Inc.” Schlosser and Pollan strike close home by targeting our wallets to spur concern with the food we “willingly” consume. Time is intentionally spent on the struggles of a Latino family to eat healthy. While unfortunate, the message is deeper. It costs more for working Americans to eat healthy. Pollan and Schlosser crunch the numbers and reveal the virtual impossibility that the non-economically elite to eat healthy. This real-life issue forces us to grab our wallets with concern and consider the magnitude of the power that the dominant food processing companies have over our lives. | By Paula Stainthorpe Guest Columnist Think about a good old American hamburger. It’s something that you have more than likely consumed in the last month. And as you sat there enjoying that burger did it ever cross your mind that you’re not just eating meat from one cow, but meat from hundreds of cattle? All combined in one juicy burger. And all of those cows that make up your burger spent their life standing ankle deep in their own manure, which can infect the meat that you are enjoying with E. coli? Not a pleasant thought. However, this issue and many other issues concerning the corporate production of food in the United States have been brought to light in the 2008 documentary “Food Inc.” “Food Inc.” is directed by award winner Robert Kenner. The film is narrated by Michael Pollen (“The Omnivore’s Dilemma”) and Eric Schlosser (“Fast Food Nation”) both reputable authors. This informative documentary does not leave much to the imagination in the exposition of the food industry and the negative effect the food we eat today has on our health. It tells some cold hard truths about where our food comes from and it definitely makes you stop and think. “Food Inc.” is an interesting, credible, purposeful, and at times disturbing, documentary that is well worth watching because it changes the way you look at food. “Food Inc.” uses interviews with various people whose lives have been affected by the giant food corporations. The most touching and thought provoking is the interview with Barbara Kowalayk, whose 2 1/2 year old, perfectly healthy, son ate a fast food hamburger and died just days after because he contracted E. coli from that contaminated hamburger. Although emotionally charged, there is no hysterical sobbing from this mother. She is shown with grace and dignity in telling her story, using pictures of her son Kevin on the beach with his family before he passed away. Kowalayk is now trying to make a difference in changing the way the beef industry conducts its business by advocating for the power to be restored to the USDA to be able to shut down meat plants where regular outbreaks of E. coli are found. |