[Note: This review of "Food, Inc." initially appeared with reviews of "Homegrown" and "Farm for the Future" -- the first of four sets of reviews for The Union newspaper.]
About your food, you think your awareness has been raised enough, don’t you?Life is tough enough, and what can you do about it anyway?
The film “Food, Inc.” plays the democracy card more than once.“Vote to change this system three times a day.”What system?The system controlled by a few multinational corporations, that lobbies against informing consumers about what’s in the food supply, about how animals and workers are treated. The system that shuts farmers down if they don’t kowtow to corporate practices.The system where government subsidizes hamburgers and soda pop to be cheaper than fruits and vegetables.
Voting your food dollar does have an effect.WalMart no longer sells milk with rBST growth hormone in it.They heard the vote of the consumer.You say you don’t shop at WalMart.The CEO of Stonyfield Farms (the third largest yogurt company) suggests that big sales of healthy and environmentally respectful products through WalMart squeezes out millions of dollars of sales of products that are less healthy and respectful.
Wherever you buy food, vote.
“Food, Inc.” does spend most of its time on the travesties of corporate exploitation of life and culture. But when the presentation is especially good, as it is in this film, it behooves you to spend 90 minutes with its well outlined awareness raising.