Review of Food, Inc. (2008) by Aaron A — 26 Mar 2011

This documentary explores the food industry's detrimental effects on our health and environment. Kenner spotlights the men and women who are working to reform an industry rife with monopolies, questionable interpretations of laws and subsidies, political ties and rising rates of E. coli outbreaks.

The first few minutes of the picture look as if it's going to be a bore-fest on the treatment of animals and their animal rights, but it quickly sheds such notions of sentimentality for a tale of corporate AND government irresponsibility and corruption. Food Inc. isn't about turning people into vegetarians (in fact the director states his favorite meal still includes a hamburger) as vegetarians can (and most likely do) contribute to the horrors found in this documentary. The film is about dethroning the big businesses that dominate the eating habits of modern americans. Food Inc. is very informative and revealing about the limits businesses will (and do) go to in order to keep a stranglehold on what the american consumer eats.

The cinematography can be surprisingly beautiful at times with vivid pictures of landscapes, and surprisingly ugly at times with vivid pictures of ruined landscapes. The editing is fast paced, never lingering on one aspect too long. And the people being interviewed show deep emotional interest in the subject matter, often arousing emotion from the viewer in response to their situation.

So only buy organic meat, or meat grown from a locally unsponsered farmer and shop at farmers markets for your vegetables.......................very inconvenient for us americans sure, but this documentary has a potential solution for many problems found in this country today.