What really prompted me to watch Food, Inc. is how WEIRD the food is over here. I've had a loaf of bread sitting in my pantry for nearly a month now and there isn't a single sign of mould, staleness or any other sign of spoil in which you would normally experience with a perishable food. That's right, that month old loaf of bread is as fresh as the day it was brought. Surely that can't be good for you, right?
Everything here tastes sweet and sugary; The yoghurt's are BRIGHT coloured and taste more like a dessert mousse than anything else. It is literally impossible to purchase a breakfast cereal which isn't candy coated, or dense in sugar.. even Special K is laden with the sweet stuff. Chicken breasts are triple the size of what we get back in NZ, and despite being in sunny California, fruit and vegetables are available all year round instead of seasonally. I've especially noticed how some products proudly boast "No High-Fructose Corn Syrup"... Fructose Corn what? Up until my arrival to the USA I had never heard of this term. As it turns out just about everything in our food - particularly processed - is made of High-Fructose Corn Syrup which is used to make a food product sweeter instead of the traditional (somewhat healthier) sucrose/table sugar. So what's the harm in a little Corn Sugar you may ask?..
This movie explains it all and puts a whole new spin on the food we eat. Food, Inc. exposes America's industrialized food system and its effect on our environment, health, economy and workers' rights. An epic view for anyone who cares to know what goes on in the kitchen and beyond.
Food, Inc. by Robert Kenner lifts the veil on the nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of government regulatory agencies. America's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. This doco reveals surprising and often shocking truths about what we eat, how it's produced, and where its going from here.
This movie is definitely worth your time! I'm not generally in the habit of praising movies for being good for you, but Food, Inc. is more than just a terrific documentary —it's an important movie... one that nourishes your knowledge of how the world works.
