Food, Inc.

If you eat, this movie is a must see.

Director Robert Kenner works to unearth secrets about agribusiness monoliths that control virtually everything we eat. “Food, Inc.” is a humbling exposé that explores a range of facets of the modern food machine.

It explores consequences of patenting genetically engineered seeds - producers are eager to sue unconverted farmers into buying, keeping over 90% of soybeans planted in the country patented.

It examines the “veggie libel laws” that make it easier for the food industry to silence its critics - the examples seem downright unconstitutional.

It looks at how starchy snack foods are cheaper to buy than fruits and vegetables. And how all this unhealthy eating will lead to one in three children born after 2000 developing type two diabetes.

Apparently, nearly all the food sold in the United States is owned in some way by one of a few companies.

Even though cattle are meant to munch mostly grass, they are corn fed up to their eyeballs. Corn can harbor E. coli, be spread to the bovines, then to you.

What sounds like a better solution: feeding cattle grass to minimize bacteria, or sterilizing meat in ammonia baths?

The latter option is just one of many cringe inducting examples of the industry favoring cheap technological solutions over common sense.

“Food, Inc.” is well made, but not abounding with its own style. The focus is squarely on the content, which is where the heart of a good documentary should be.

It also takes its subject seriously but isn’t afraid to sprinkle in some humor. The facts were strong enough to speak for themselves, even though the film is somewhat of a muckraker. The food companies aren’t represented, but that’s their own fault; they refused to talk with Keener.

The film balances its factual horror with ways the average consumer can change their diets and change the industry.

I sat through the film contemplating the hamburger I ate beforehand, which may have contained meat from over 1,000 different cows, and concluded that I needed to make that change for myself.

“Food, Inc.” is the most important film of the year.

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