Food Inc. Movie

Food Inc. Movie

Cows on the farm

Am I the last green blogger to see this? Probably. But thanks to Netflix… yeah I must be the last person to try Netflix too… I am catching up on all those green documentaries I have been wanting to see and for dirt cheap I might add. Netflix rocks!

Anyway, Food Inc is a documentary about our food, where it comes from, the true cost, why junk foods seems to cost less than the good stuff, and why looking at our food chain can be a terrifying experience. Factory farms and Monsanto are the stuff of nightmares I tell you.. I was agitated for days after watching it. Here were some of the main things I got out of it:

Monsanto is dark side of the force all the way. In the documentary we follow an elderly gentleman who runs a seed cleaning business that is being sued by Monsanto. He has to PROVE his innocence rather than them prove his guilt. Whereas he used to be one of 3 cleaners that existed in every county in his state, Monsanto has now sued and run every single one out if business in the entire state, save 3. Monsanto also regularly sues other companies that sell seeds, even though they have no basis for a lawsuit.. they bankrupt the companies with legal fees before a verdict can even be reached. At this rate Monsanto will be the one and only company you will ever be able to get seeds from in the future and since they have been allowed to patent seeds you will be sued for millions if you save any of their seeds. It was seriously scary enough for me to immediately start Googling places to get heirloom seeds and this year I WILL be saving seeds. My grandkids might need them!!

A mother whose child died from ecoli from a hamburger meat at a factory farm cannot tell the name of the company who sold the tainted meat or she will be convicted of a felony. The story of her son’s death had me bawling… bring the tissues. He died a painful, horrific death as a result of an irresponsible industry and yet every year the the government makes it harder for us to to grow/raise our own food.

Veggie Libel laws exist in several states.. aka if you speak badly about food products you can be sued. In Colorado it is a felony even. If your apples made you sick or you were sold tainted beef you are not allowed to talk about it because that can cause “harm” to the producer. Remember Oprah was sued in a 6 year court battle because she said on TV that she could not stomach eating hamburgers due to mad cow disease. Talking bad about hamburgers is a “crime”. How can the free market be free if you can’t speak out (good or bad) about the products you buy?

Instead of changing their products to meet consumer demands when certain ingredients fall out of favor… these corporations opt to use their politician friends to pass laws so that the companies are not required to label those ingredients anymore.

Junk foods are subsidized by our government so that the costs can stay cheap. This is why you see a family buy two hamburgers at McDonalds for their kids instead of buying some veggies. If you add health and environmental impact though, those foods are not so cheap.

If you decide to boycott an unethical company you may be out of luck because that one company likely owns 10 other companies that make the same product under a different brand name so that you never know it is the exact same company. Those same companies are also buying up organic food and natural products companies left and right. Tom’s of Maine is now owned by Colgate and Burt’s Bess is owned by Clorox. The company you love to hate may now be the owner of some of your favorite products and if you continue to buy you are funding their bad behavior.

Food Inc. movie gets a big A+ for me for being interesting, thought provoking, and incredibly important. I highly recommend it!

22 Comments

  1. Caroline

    This movie seriously changed my life. Since watching it, I have made a serious effort to be educated about everything I am eating. It has been a difficult but rewarding process. The way I see it, if I stop eating foods made by these companies, I am doing my small part to create change. Love the blog!

  2. Melynda

    You aren’t the last one to see it. It’s is still waiting in our Netflix queue, slowly moving it’s way up. I think a lot about what we eat, but according to friends this movie will motivate me to eat even smarter.

    • Kate

      Search for it online. I watched it for free!

  3. Melanie

    I actually just watched this movie night before last. I knew a lot of the information but seeing the effect on the farmers was the biggest wake up call for me. How threatened they are, it’s like the Monsanto Mafia.

  4. Jackie@Lilolu

    Don’t even get me started on Monsanto. I am so fired up today because I recently found out Monsanto is trying to get the USDA to approve Genetically Engineered alfalfa. As if they haven’t done enough damage with their GE soybean seeds. I recently posted an article about it on my blog. Check it out if you’d like.

  5. Shannon

    This movie is truly eye-opening and everyone in America should be forced to watch it. If only people knew the truth behind what they are eating, they may chose a different lifestyle…one that is better for their bodies/health, better for animals and better for the environment.

    Some day people will begin to recognize the need for change; I have faith in that. In fact, documentaries such as this are helping to charge the way. Currently, national health care costs are overwhelming and the millions of people suffering from food-induced conditions (cancers, disease, etc.) makes me sick. It’s important for each person who feels strongly about this topic to make a personal commitment to eat organic, animal-friendly food and buy from companies we want to be associated with. Let’s make a positive change people…every person counts!

    Another great movie, similar in topic, is called The Beautiful Truth. I also highly recommend this documentary.

  6. stephanie

    After we watched this movie we never ate meat again. We live in AZ and it’s too hard to find good quality, grass fed, small farm meat. So we don’t eat meat anymore…simple.

  7. I haven’t seen it yet either. Don’t have Netflix yet for that matter. Really want to get around to both.

    We try to be careful about what we eat, but it can be a challenge. Good thing my husband loves gardening too. But we’re renting right now, and that puts some serious limits in what we can do. Otherwise I’d have fruit trees and a major garden going on.

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  9. WE love our Netflix!!! I sat down to watch this movie and could not finish it all.. my stomach was hurting my hear was spinning.. I was in unbelief of all that was happening..anyway, I went back to finish watching it ( and do you know I had to nerver to eat a salad as I was watching..lets just say, I did not finish my lovely greens)
    This movie has changed my life as well…As a family we already only ate Chicken, Turkey and Fish.. but this movie left me chaning my snack foods and reading lables!

    love you blog! I want to be like you when I grow up ..hahaha :)

  10. Bridget

    We’ve had this movie for a month or so now…and haven’t watched it. I want/need to but I know I’ll just get all riled up. I saw the Oprah show that talked about it, Michael Pollan, etc. I’ve really been on a food kick lately…as much as I can…I’ve been reading/absorbing. It’s all rather disgusting & makes my head spin. Just read over Alicia Silverstone’s book The Kind Diet…very interesting & along the same lines I suppose of Food, Inc. Thanks for the recco. I liked her style, spelling out the facts, and will be trying out some of her recipes. Already did the miso soup. : )

    It’s so hard to wrap my brain around all this…what a big mess. I just don’t get how as a country we are in a health care reform crisis & at the same time it seems our govt supports all that is unhealthy. So sad. I hear Michelle Obama (whom I like) talk about childhood obesity & getting physical…I truly want to know her thoughts on what our govt is supporting…and movies like Food Inc.

    Anyway, I’m doing my best on making changes. I feel like socially/kids in school, etc. it’s very difficult. I didn’t think I was one of those that ate exceptionally well…but when I see what others are eating/or feeding their kids in school lunches, I’m shocked.

    Love your blog! : ) Oh, and I bought a laptop lunchbox for my Kindy son. They just started eating lunch at school (half day) once a week for practice. He loves it! So cute. Thanks!

    • Melissa

      Does anyone else find it ironic that Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative is being funded by PepsiCo?

  11. We just watched that a couple of weeks ago for the first time. I thought it was very well put together and super informative. The film made my meat-loving, veggie-hating husband start talking about a more vegetarian diet. I honestly think that the worse scene in the movie was when they showed the video of the pig kill floor. Swine screams just sound too human for my liking.

    Good review!

  12. Brandy G

    I loved this movie – because of how informative it was.

    It inspired my family to begin a new chapter. We’ve been meat free 95% of the week (what we buy is free range or grass fed). We have also been HFCS free. You should add Michael Pollan’s books to your list – good reads. Also, Corn is King as well as Killer at Large – good documentaries.

  13. Juanita

    I haven’t watched this yet. I want/need to as well but I will be on a war path as I am already.

    This reminds me of two things:
    1. I told a friend from another country once that I was so relieved that in the US we aren’t controlled by military holding machine guns on every corner. He said, that is true but they still control you with commercials. They tell you what to do, wear, eat, etc. and you do what they say. As a country, “we” are fueling this fire with what we buy.

    2. I was in the grocery store recently filling my cart with fresh fruits and veggies. This elderly gentlemen came up to me and asked if I was buying these things for my own family. I said, Oh yes! He said, Really? (with a shocked tone) Wow! That’s great! Then, I looked around and saw the many carts filled with processed foods.

    What will it take to get the followers to think and take action?

  14. Juanita

    With that said, I have to agree with Briget. My daughter attends a Montessori school which openly and frequently adovactes for healthy food choices and my daughter comes home asking if she can bring any number of things that I consider out of the question…peer pressure is huge. I am concerned about what this all will look like when she hits 1st grade. I find it a rare occurence when I run into someone else who is an avid label reader in the grocery store.

  15. Kimmy d

    I love (though it seems like the wrong word thanks to the subject matter) this movie! I have read Animal Vegetable Miracle, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Harvest for Hope, so I had some deep understanding and beliefs about our food supplies and the effect that corporate farms and MONSANTO have on the planet and on the animals we rely on for food. I have many friends who feel the same way, but some i just could not convince, because they aren’t as crunchy in their politics as I am. Food inc brings it home on a human level. We still “get to” see the abuse heaped on our environment and the suffering of the animals, but the misery of our farmers (once so noble and valued) and everyday people who dare to speak out is so profound. I recommend this movie to every one. All the time. To the level of annoyance. :)

  16. Hannah

    I LOVED this film! So eye opening and confirming of the hesitations that I have had for so long. Very disturbing, but in a way that sparks action, which is why I loved it so much. We have changed some of our eating habits because of the information in this film.

    My favorite place for heirloom seeds is http://www.seedsavers.org I love supporting this business! And their seeds are awesome- I have had very good success with them. I find it so disheartening that even some of the “better” seed companies are owned by Monsato and other companies that we would never buy from, if we knew who really owned them. But I am confident in Seed Savers and have thus made them my seed source of choice.

    • Hannah, I just ordered from Seed Savers a couple days ago! They have great prices on organic heirloom seeds.

  17. This movie is terrible/great all at once. Check out Future of Food, its available instantly through Netflix. It talks about Monsantos abuse towards farmers. It made me sooo sad :( but empowered!

  18. I don’t know if I can watch it… but hence I am becoming Raw Vegan. If I could buy or when I have the opportunity to by free range local eggs, or grass fed local beef (that I know I can trust)… then i would eat it. But I know some of the processes and it makes me sick.

    Did you know that a pasture cow only needs a 4’x4′ space outside his pen. Really? A pasture cow. Geesh!

    • And I know even raw vegan doesn’t protect me from the mass agriculture processes for vegetables. I think I am going with our local CSA market. But of course, all these changes takes time.

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