With some time off over the holidays I sat down in front of my computer and streamed Food, Inc. via Netflix. The film (trailer available below) depicts the current state of the nation’s industrial food system. Food, Inc.’s website provides the following synopsis of the documentary.

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Much of the film is based on the work of Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (author of In Defense of Food, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and the recently published Food Rules). The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food have been mentioned in several posts. The latter was reviewed last summer on 2nd Green Revolution. Further material for the documentary comes from policy and law makers. In addition, the two authors – Schlosser and Pollan – were interviewed extensively throughout the documentary. Interestingly enough, both Schlosser (Chew on This) and Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma Young Readers Edition) now have young adult versions of their books.

Watch the film’s trailer below.

Focusing largely on farmers – industrial and small scale – and livestock, the film takes a scathing look at the meat produced from CAFOs (concentrated animal feed operations). The concern from these feeding operations is the high use of antibiotics, corn based feed for animals that had not evolved to consume the plant, and the waste product of such systems that often dump animal feces into holding tanks or allow feces to build up in the animals’ living areas (hence the need for antibiotics). One of the main health risks involved in eating large quantities of meat raised in these settings is increased E. coli outbreaks. One of the companies discussed in the film, Beef Products Inc., was highlighted in a recent New York Times exposé. The company injects ammonia into meat to kill strains of E. coli and salmonella. The technique is designed to reduce pathogens, however, the technology has recently come under scrutiny. According to The New York Times records “show that in testing for the school lunch program, E. coli and salmonella pathogens have been found dozens of times in Beef Products meat, challenging claims by the company and the [United States Department of Agriculture] about the effectiveness of the treatment.”

Two of the most compelling figures of the film are Gary Hirshberg, CEO of Stonyfield Foods and Joel Salatin, head of Polyface Farms in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Hirshberg discussed how Wal-Mart became a leading purchaser of his company’s milk as part of their response to customer demands. Wal-mart’s switch to rBST hormone free milk serves as an example of what Hirshberg refers to as “moving the market”. While many of his environmentally conscious friends from his younger days were upset at his partnership with the giant retailer, Hirshberg points out that as a result of the relationship, more organic food is on the shelves. Salatin’s farm produces sustainably produced produce and livestock, using integrated livestock management. Polyface Farms serves as the centerpiece on sustainable farming in the third section of Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma.