Food Inc. is a documentary of what is becoming its own genre, that of simply awakening the American public to the politics, economics, environmental and of course health implications of food. Similar movies also worth viewing include “King Corn“, and Super Size Me. Another independent movie, The Corporation, uses the DSM classification of sociopath as a way to make sense of the way huge corporate conglomerates operate. Insensitive, selfish and even brute behavior is the path some of these big businesses take and that is dangerous enough, but when they feed our nation it is not a small leap to see why “food” is about shelf life and profits vs. nutrition and well-being.
Is there an ever growing hubris in the world of agribusiness? The, “we are the experts, just trust us” is not sufficient, as the decisions made have far reaching effects. We, the public, the consumer need to assume a relationship with our food, beyond just buying it and eating it.
Whether you are a vegan, omnivore, meat-eater or any mix there of, food as we all know is essential to life. Food, Inc. discusses how we, the public and even the government have seemingly lost control of how our food comes to market. A few scenes display (not too graphically) what happens with the animals and the lack of care they receive in some cases. But please don’t let that stop you from seeing this movie! The old adage that “truth is stranger than fiction”, may come to mind during the watching of this flick.
Again, one of the key truths this movie highlights is the importance of food. We cannot underestimate the impact of food safety. Simply good, healthy food is essential to health. Our health as individuals, the planet, the animals, water, etc. depend on us caring about the earth’s resources. The diabetes epidemic can be reversed, our hearts can be healthier, public health can improve. When we understand that we have always had the power and simply start to make choices that take into account our generation and generations to come, improvement will come.