Coming soon to a theater near you, “Food, Inc.”
On Monday, I wrote about a documentary that will air on HBO on March 16 called, “Death on a Factory Farm.” While I’m deeply concerned about this documentary, there is a high-budget documentary that will be in theaters this June that I’m a little more wary of. It’s called Food, Inc., and it will be released on June 12, 2009. Directed by Robert Kenner, this documentary shows the “evils” of food production. Guest appearances that you might recognize are controversial “food gurus” Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and Chew on This, and Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. Although other movies like this have been a flop, this film will certainly make waves in a time where consumers have heightened concerns about the foods they eat. What will they think about beef production after this film? More importantly, what are we going to do about it? Here is what supporter Serious Eats has to say about this documentary…
The buzz at the Toronto Film Festival was all about food. The new documentary, “Food Inc.,” premiered at the festival to rave reviews. Entertainment Weekly called it “an important movie, one that nourishes your knowledge of how the world works,” the Los Angeles Times labeled it “a riveting cautionary tale,” and Variety says it’s “a civilized horror movie for the socially conscious, the nutritionally curious and the hungry.”
The documentary from the producers of an “Inconvenient Truth,” is all about the “highly mechanized underbelly” of the nation’s food industry. It includes graphic footage of poultry sheds and meat packing plants (some of it shot in secret) and appearances by familiar foodie faces Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan.
I have included the trailer for you to view. Take a few minutes to watch it. If it doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will. Leave your comments; I’m ready for a heated discussion on this one!
March 5th, 2009 at 8:20 am
You can counter this type of adverse publicity by promoting the movie FATHEAD any way you can.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Amanda, while I’m supportive of your work with the Beef Magazine, you must not let yourself get dragged into the arena of corporate agriculture. I’ve worked in agriculture for my entire life, I still farm, I live in the city, and have great hope for the future of agriculture. I understand that corportate agriculture is a necessity to keep the vast number of farmers in opertation, but I also understand it is important to educate the comsumer to make some real hard decisions about the foods they eat. If they chose to avoid beef because of the production practices, so be it. But what you might find is an interesting pattern that I’ve seen in my own neighborhood so many times…they take some time to understand the true cost of their food purchasing decisions, investigate alternative options, chose to seek out more sustainablely produced food (beef and vegetables) and begin looking for “their farmer” to supply one or more of their kitchen supplies. I realize it’s a tough pill to swallow, but we are responsible for our own destiny, and if we chose to not make a difference we don’t deserve to be a part of the food production process.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Very frustrating to me.
I think our response needs to be targeted to young mothers, those who will feel most the increased food prices the “alternative” will bring them.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Except for the eerie music, I think most of that was true. Of course, it wasn’t the whole truth, but it was definitely part of the story of agriculture and agribusiness of today. Farmers and ranchers often lament that people think their food comes from the grocery store and now it looks like someone create a film that lets them know it also comes from farms and some of those farms are factory-like. Maybe a movie or a documentary should be made by agriculture and show the world another part of the truth.
As a farmer, I am not getting that much of the food dollar, so I assume some of the businesses that handle my crop and livestock must be and I assume that those larger feedlots probably do not have to make as much off each animal as I do. So if you are thinking that this movie will create an awareness that is in part true and agriculture creates a movie that explains another part, then people will begin to understand that their food doesn’t just come from the grocery store. I get it goes back to the old adage, be careful what you wish for, because you just may get it.
I can be fairly innovative - I would be happy to assist you in developing, lets say, Food Consumers, Inc. or Bread & Butter Basket, or Food, Land and Water or Soil, Toil and SoyOil or Grow Your Own Food, or Convenient Food (c).
People will always eat food and more people will begin to eat food grown within and around urban centers, because agriculture has not traditionally had to listen to the consumers. And guess what, as the consumer does not know where their food comes from, I, as a farmer, will confess, I don’t know where my food goes. I guess I am disconnected as well.
March 5th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
These “organic” enthusiasts don’t realize that producing “organic” products WILL NOT feed the world! If we produced like we did 50 years ago, back-home farm style like these people wish we did, we would not be able to produce enough food to even feed America, much less produce enough to export anything internationally. Countries like Japan who import beef from US depend on our feedlots, which are viewed in the video as “factories”. If beef was produced by Farmer Joe and sent one by one to the local packing plant, we could not capitalize on international ag trade. Also, theyview the marketing of products in the supermarket as “keeping something from consumers,” when IN FACT, consumers demand prefer variety and convenience! When it comes to “skinless, boneless”, consumers want these types of products because they can go to the store, purchases a boneless steak, and are better able to prepare a convenient meal…which is what consumers want. The producers of this movie just don’t get it. THey need to take off their blinders to see the fact that animal welfare is taken into consideration and the fact that America would starve without technology.
March 5th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
The trailer was compelling and I will not miss the movie although I will probably have to see it on DVD since I live in a very conservative community. I was raised and returned to a registered Angus operation - mostly breeding stock. I remember saying to my dad a few years ago when we were driving, without cattle, to the Denver show, how thankful I was that I was not raised on a feedlot operation. Indeed, it is a factory operation as are the giant pork and chicken operations. You don’t have to belong to PETA or have never set foot in a barnyard or pasture to find factory farming distasteful. We could have smaller, more local, economically viable farming if we really wanted them. We might, or might not, pay more for our food. But concentration of economic power is the current state of American capitalism and agriculture reflects the bias towards concentration of capital and market share.
March 6th, 2009 at 2:01 am
Kelsey, I would be happy to discuss with you the virtues of global trade. Your ideology of “feeding the world” is off kilter and requires educated critical thinking. Feeding the world is strictly policy - don’t let yourself be fooled, I know deep down you know this.
“They” always said we’d never be able to grow cotton without slave labour…seems to me necessity is the mother of innovation, as well as invention. People in 3rd world countries DON’T need our policy driven commodity dumping, it only criples their local food production - this is what you need to focus your attention on if you want to feed the world - policy.
March 6th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Please mention how the National Animal Identification System is trying and put the small farmers out of business with all the tagging, tracking, and not to mention the extreme cost. This program does nothing to stop illness, or protect the consumer. It only drives small farmers out of business and opens the market to big corporations and government control. It will drive the cost up and hurt all of us. The problems start after the animals leave our farms with the cruel conditions, dirty facilities, the food processing and packaging. Help us keep our food safe by stopping this assault.
We want to keep the term “Farm Fresh”. I want to know where my food is coming from. Look at the website NONAIS.org for more information.
March 7th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Oh no! What are you going to do?! If your product actually was safe and morally right, you wouldn’t be worried.
March 10th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Wow! Great discussion, everybody! There are definitely some opposing arguments on this blog post. Megan, in regard to your comment: As producers, we are worried about this documentary not because we have something to hide, but because it unfairly portrays food producers as evil people. We truly care about the land and the livestock, and our efficiencies help us to feed the world. Would you rather see your food imported from places unknown, or would you rather purchase your food from people you can trust? You are welcome to visit my ranch at anytime. We are an open slate. Please visit this website again with your questions and concerns. I would love to have an open dialogue with you! Take care!
March 17th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Unfortunately I need to agree. It is time we as farmers get our heads out of the sand and begin producing what people want rather than what we (and the government) think they should have. People have gotten used to eating the flavorless food that has been factory produced however there is a growing awareness on the part of some that there is better food to be had.
Whoever controls the banking / lending system is also party to this. 35 years ago when I started farming you could go to the local bank and get a loan for your farming operation. Today there are almost no “local banks”. Farmers are almost forced to get government loans. With that is government control which almost mandates “factory farming”.
Unless we as farmers become pro-active and change our methods to what people want we will be forced out of business by this type of publicity.
While it is true that documentaries such as this contain a lot of exaggerations there IS more truth in it than we would like to admit.
March 30th, 2009 at 11:51 am
WOW! I cannot believe this film. I can already see that this film, which I suspect will be based on spotty, inconclusive, and myth based research will hurt the agriculture community! That is why it is very important that we a producers and beef ambassadors, FFA members, 4-H members, etc respond to this negative movie, which was produced using film. If you don’t know this, the film we use in cameras, including 35mm and video cameras comes the byproducts of cattle, and in my opinion was a waste of a good by-product!
This is what really hurts our industry, people just want to open their mouth before they know the whole truth, and spread that news rapidly. They don’t know how we care for our cattle on our 4th generation farm, or any others across the nation. I will say that yes, there are some farmers that do not take proper care of their animals, however it isn’t 1 in every 10, but a much much higher number in the hundreds of thousands if I had to take a guess.
Agriculture is the largest industry in the world, as it should be! Without agriculture, we would have absolutely nothing, but our starving naked bodies. Animals not only give us food but numerous by-products, such as clothes, shoes, camera film, cleaners, etc. You should try to Google “When Is a Cow More Than a Cow”. It’s was very popular about 10 years ago and shows what all comes from a cow.
It amazes me with what some people will come up with! The fact is that most don’t really understand what they are saying, yet they are the very first to complain about agriculture, but have no problem rushing to the mall in their cars to buy more clothes and other by-products!
Keep up the GREAT work Amanda!
June 19th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
“We” should be against this movie, with Amanda. “We” should resist it and associate it with “controversial” figures like Michael Pollan. “We” should link it to liberal media offerings like An Inconvenient Truth so that people will be biased against it. After alll, “we” are in lock step with the three or four megacorporations of agricultural America. On the other hand, if “we” are the American farmer or the American rancher or the American food consumer we might actually agree with most of this movie and find the existing approach to food production repulsive to both food consumers and farmers alike. The fact is that government ag policy and corporate agriculture have done little more than empty rural America of farm families, force family farms to industrial scale, and relegate farmers to razor thin profits margins. The current system is broken. Why not allow some openness for this film and some of the other current media attention to create a level of public awareness that could possibly help restore balance and health to farming and farmers?
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BEEF Daily is your online news source for today’s beef industry updates, every Monday through Thursday morning. BEEF’s Web Editor, Amanda Nolz, captures the essence of life as a South Dakota cattle producer and college student, as well as top headlines of the day. YOU can also weigh in your thoughts. Don’t miss a minute of the action; subscribe to the BEEF Daily e-newsletter today!Article Proposal
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