Food, Inc. Scratches the Surface of Food Production Issues

On Friday night I went to view the premier of Food, Inc. in Nashville at the only location daring enough to show it: The Belcourt Theater in Hillsboro Village. Not much of the film provided new insights to an industry I have already spent some time learning more about. It was structured in short chapters on:

• the fast food industry and the economic benefits of eating fast, cheap food
• illegal immigrants working in meat processing plants (yes, that's a euphemism for slaughterhouse)
• industrial meet processing
• industrial livestock raisers (esp. chicken)
• corn farmers and genetically modified seed
• public & legal policies
• government influence
• sustainable & local farming
• call for action and change

I cannot remember all of the names and titles of the sections, but this list provides a fair overview of the major talking points of the film. I think the earlier NYTimes Review was accurate in saying "Time and again the movie stops short before it really gets started." With so many sub-topics, there is no way to do justice to any of them in a 93-minute film. It simply provides a nasty taste of the major issues surrounding food production in America.

Everyone who sees this film is guaranteed to learn something shocking enough to inspire the curiosity to learn more and to spark the momentum to change the system. Food, Inc. will be most influential in introducing newbies to the realities of food production in America and the possibilities that with each item scanned in the supermarket, we can slowly increase the demand for local, organic, and healthy food in our communities.

As was discussed in the post-viewing panel discussion at the Belcourt, people choose to eat local or organic foods for a variety of reasons: animal treatment, pesticide use, local agriculture, local economy, health, taste, etc. I think this is the kind of film that is outrageous enough, yet brief enough to start more serious conversations and change.

Check out the Food, Inc. website for more info, including reading lists.