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!

The animal rights activists are at it again, busy making another dramatic documentary to show consumers the “evils” of livestock production. The documentary is titled, “Death on a Factory Farm,” and this 87-minute documentary will air on HBO beginning March 16, 2009. This is the provided excerpt that describes this upcoming film…

more

I was in the airport this weekend, and I picked up a magazine to read during my flight. I bought SELF Magazine, a publication for women similar to the editorial content found in magazines like Glamour and Women’s Health. I was flipping through the pages when I found a title that made me stop short, “Veg Out!” The article explained the benefits of becoming a vegetarian. It detailed the variety of options to try including becoming a vegan—eliminating all animal foods, dairy and eggs; a pescatarian—a vegetarian who includes fish in their diet; a fruitarian—an extreme diet of fruits, nuts and seeds; and a raw foodist—vegans who eat all food raw on the theory that cooking destroys a food’s living nature. I just couldn’t believe what I was reading!

more

This week marks the beginning of the BEEF Daily Blog. You may have read that I’m a South Dakota cattle producer and a college student. What you haven’t read is that I’m not afraid to dig into the big issues facing the industry today. I’m not scared to stand strong by my beliefs, and I’m not worried about blasting them to the world. I hope you will join me every Monday through Thursday as I dive into some of the hot topics of the agriculture industry today. Love me, or hate me; it’s not so important. What’s important is healthy discussion. So don’t hold back, let me have it. Only then, will we discover some of the vital truths about our industry’s issues.

Speaking of issues. The clear hot topic of today is Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL), as today marks MCOOL’s national debut. For many, this symbolizes the day producers can finally begin to promote American born and raised beef. For others, it represents dollars billowing out of their hands in the wind. For consumers, it means security of knowing where their beef comes from, but it also could be a detriment, that yes, consumers know where their meat comes from.

Wherever you stand on MCOOL, one thing is for sure, with high input costs facing cattlemen today, coupled with even higher grocery and fuel bills straining the pockets of consumers, MCOOL could certainly be a tough sell for all involved. Whether we are ready or not, MCOOL is here to stay, today. We will soon see the economic impacts of this government program unfold, and I’ll be ready to blog about it with laptop in hand.