It is natural to assume that the people in charge of food standards and the people making the food would have your best interests at heart. Food, no rx Inc. uncovers the unbelievable truth about the American food industry and dispels this myth, abortion or as they say in the film, this ‘lifts the veil’ on the industry and shatters our assumptions. From beef production that is so horribly intense it causes tens of thousands of E.coli cases in humans a year, to why the rate of type 2 diabetes is rising to 1 in 3 for Americans born after 2000. The greed of food companies to claim more and more of the market despite the damage they are causing to consumers, animals and the environment is shocking.
Chicks on the factory floor. Photo courtesy of Our Daily Bread
Smaller producers and the consumers themselves have barely any power to fight their corner when faced with companies that have the money to win any court case brought against them. While it’s easy to say that the power lies with the consumer, the consumer would probably never imagine (unless they were particularly cynical) that the production behind the food on their plate was so damaging and disgusting. This is why this film, and others like it, are so important – to make consumers aware of where their food comes from so that they can make a choice but also to show food companies that their production methods cannot be kept secret and that the consumer will not stand for it.
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More films on food:
There are two other absolutely superb documentaries I’ve seen on food production. One is Our Daily Bread (Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Austria, 2005), which traces factory farming throughout Europe. It has no narration or music (and so requires no subtitles), but its pure minimalist awesomeness makes your jaw drop from the start right through to the end. No sensationalism here, just images free of commentary, with the eerie, mechanic soundtrack of the machines that have replaced men in farming. I defy you to peel your eyes away from the screen, and not feel a million times wiser at the end. Truly recommend it, not only as information and as an eye-opener, but as a piece of unique, striking cinema. Stark and poetic.
Photo courtesy of Our Daily Bread
The other is We Feed The World (Erwin Wagenhofer, 2005), which makes the link between European food production and hunger in a direct and shocking way, but with a sophisticated humour and sarcasm that will make you laugh when you shouldn’t.
Photo courtesy of Our Daily Bread
Categories ,Dogwoof, ,Dominika Jarosz, ,Eric Schlosser, ,Erwin Wagenhofer, ,Factory Farming, ,Farming, ,Fast Food Nation, ,Food, ,Food Inc, ,Joanna Van Den Driessche, ,Michael Pollan, ,Nikolaus Geyrhalter, ,Our Daily Bread, ,Robert Kenner, ,US, ,We feed The World
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