MOVIE REVIEW: FOOD, INC.

Western Growers Communications Manager Paul Simonds took part in an advanced screening of Robert Kenner’s Food, Inc. last Thursday, June 4. 

Before a packed house at Whittier Village Cinemas in Whittier, Calif., Food, Inc. was unveiled for the Baldwin Park chapter of the California Farm to School Program —  a project of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI). 

The movie was predictably biased against “industrialized agriculture,” a term that was never clearly defined.  The film’s synopsis says the documentary’s focus is to expose, “the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment.”

I would counter that the focus of the film is to tear down the nation’s chicken, beef and pork industries, with a concerted effort to rip apart Monsanto Company along the way.  The film is filled with images of downer cows, abused pigs and chicken farms that don’t create a “comfortable” environment for the birds.

There is very little mention of the specialty crop industry, except when the film makers take exception with the federal government’s farm policies.  Food, Inc.’s writers point out that those crops, which receive government subsidies are not fruit and vegetable crops.  As a result, program crops are less expensive leading to unhealthy eating habits by consumers.

Food, Inc. suggests the U.S. produces too much corn and subsidizes the overproduction.

However, the film fails to recognize that the US produces corn for other countries and is the largest exporter of corn in the world. In 2007, the U.S. exported 2.4 billion bushels, or 134.4 billion pounds, of corn. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Middle East and North Africa are some of the biggest importers of corn.

Monsanto Company has taken great exception with this film.  From Monsanto’s Web site:

• Throughout this film, Food, Inc.:
  Demonizes American farmers and the agriculture system responsible for feeding over 300 million people in the United States.
• Presents an unrealistic view of how to feed a growing nation while ignoring the practical demands of the American consumer and the fundamental needs of consumers around the world.
• Disregards the fact that multiple agriculture systems should – and do – coexist.

Food, Inc. was mildly entertaining but missed the mark as far as facts are concerned.  For instance, the film briefly highlights the 2006 E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak in spinach.  The film claims that cow feces was to blame, as a result of run-off from an adjacent cow feeding operation, for the field’s contamination.  We know there is no evidence to prove that claim.  Also, to further make the point, despite failing to root the argument(s) with facts, that food borne outbreaks are now more prevalent because of the diet “industrialized farms” feed their animals, the film makers flashed images of last year’s salmonella outbreak across the screen.  The problem is that the images were those of tomatoes.  We know that last year’s salmonella outbreak was never tied to tomatoes, and was ultimately tied to Mexican-grown peppers. 

The movie did push organics in a common-sense fashion, noting that organic producers and companies that manufacture organic products are better off working with companies like Wal-Mart to 1) Advance their environmental agenda, 2) Produce greater profits, and 3) Grow the organic sector to the point that it becomes even more mainstream. 

For more information, contact WG’s Paul Simonds (psimonds@wga.com) at (949) 885-2257.