"Food, Inc." and Thoughts Afterwards

Last night "Food, Inc." played on the Iowa PBS channels (and maybe nationwide?). That is pretty interesting in and of itself, but what I found more interesting was the show that played afterwards here in Iowa. "An Iowa Journal" (this link will take you to the full episode, but you can also view clips below the main video) was featured after the film and included an interview with Craig Lamb (head of the Iowa Farm Bureau) and Neil Hamilton (Drake University Agricultural Law Center and 10-acre market gardner). Obviously a film like this would bring out a lot of opinions here in Iowa, a state that leads the nation in corn, soybean, egg, and hog production.

One of the words that kept coming up in the discussion was "choice". But, I don't think everyone agreed all of the time on what "choice" actually was. If you have 50 minutes of free time I would encourage you to check this out. I had it running in the background while I was doing some other work and found it very interesting to listen too.

If you do have time to take a listen tell me what you think ... was it an unbiased discussion? Did they pick out bits to cling on to that didn't tell the whole picture? I'm just curious what others think.

Jumping on the Bandwagon :: Food Inc.

After reading many reviews from various farm and farm related blogs I decided it was time that I jumped on the Food, Inc. bandwagon and watched the film. So, the other day I went to the local Family Video and rented a copy (luckily they had three copies in their new release section). I ended up watching the film a couple of times and checked out all of the extras. I will readily admit that I am pretty far behind on this one (that is usually the case), but I am glad I watched it and would like to share few thoughts...

• I absolutely loved King Corn ... I think I have said that enough times (even though I was very skeptical to begin with). I mention that because I think in a way Food, Inc. did some of what King Corn did in just presenting the information and giving a couple sides to the story. I especially found the comments from the Vice President of the Corn Grower's Association (or whatever it's called) to be very interesting and revealing. But, I still like King Corn better -- that's just my opinion.
• Apathetic ... I'm not sure if that is exactly the word I'm looking for, so if you have a better suggestion let me know. But, I always find it interesting when I watch and read things from farmers who are working within the large industrial model. As I mention in the first point the V.P. of the Corn Growers had some interesting comments and really didn't seem to excited about the system as it exists today. The chicken growers (both the segments in the film and in the deleted scenes) all seemed somewhat "blah" about the job the were doing and the way they had to do it. And, even the dairy farmers who met the Wal-Mart dairy buyers had no problem telling them that they don't even shop at Wal-Mart ... which was ironic because their milk was being made into products and sold at Wal-Mart. The most excited farmer ... Joel Salatin.
• The story of the woman who lost her child because of the tainted beef really tugs on the heart strings. I am still afraid though (and this is what really made the heart hurt more) that no amount of government regulation would solve the food dangers when our system is so industrialized. But, I don't know all the ins and outs of that sort of thing and I'm sure there are a lot of people say that we have to start somewhere.
• Monsanto and the attack on the farmers wanting to save their own seed (assuming it is not Monsanto's seed) was pretty frustrating. And, I found it more interesting (or disconcerting) that almost immediatly after showing the man's lawyers saying that if he doesn't win it will be the end of all farmer's who want to save seeds and the seed cleaners the fact is revealed the he settled because of lack of money.

All in all I thought it was a film worth watching and I would encourage you to see it if you haven't already. I realize that you may not agree with everything (or much for that matter), but it is still worth a shot and you should allow yourself to think a little as you take it all in. But, did I mention I really like King Corn!

Spreading the Message of Good Food

Just time for a quick hitter today because between Vacation Bible School and preparations for the construction of our porch I'm a bit busy. But, I did want to pose a question and see if any one is interested in throwing in their two cents. Here is my question:

Recently on the Epi-Log there were back-to-back posts reviewing the upcoming documentary, "Food, Inc.". Before that there was a write up on the documentary, "Fresh". I have written about both of these films here on the blog (and many others) and I have to admit that I'm pretty fond of a good documentary, but do you think films like this are a good way to spread the message that we can have a different food system? I must admit that when I first saw previews of "King Corn" I thought I would hate it ... turns out I LOVED it ... but, I wonder what it would or what it is going to take to make an impression outside of the larger cities or metropolitan areas? Do you think films like this will help or do you think that most Americans are so set in their ways that it is going to take an experience to really change their minds?

I do think that most of the recent "food/farming" films have been a help in getting the discussion going and creating a platform for it, but I am curious as to what the next step is...

A Couple More Movies...

While looking up a movie preview yesterday I found a trailer for a new movie called, "Food, INC." As described on the Apple Quicktime site this documentary, "lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that’s been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA." As you can see from the trailer below it appears to be an interesting movie that includes a few of the usual suspects when it comes to this type of film (Joel Salatin and Michael Pollan).

My one hope is that comes across as well as "King Corn". I think those guys did an excellent job of putting together a documentary that was not heavy-handed or forceful in it's agenda. They were able to present the facts and build a persuading argument through them. Hopefully "Food, INC." is able to do the same thing! (As a side note you can watch the opening of the film here)



On a related note while looking for "Food, INC." clips on YouTube I ran across another documentary titled, "Shall We Gather at the River." I couldn't find as much about this film, but it is along the same lines as other "food and farming" documentaries coming out now. You can watch a trailer below.