Comments on: Should You See Food Inc? Eh. I Guess So.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:13:14 +0000

I enjoyed reading your blog. I recently saw Food Inc and it has made me increasingly interested in supporting organic farms and the like.

I agree that it would be nice to have an opposing view in the documentary, however, it states that none of these companies wanted to be interviewed for the movie. In failing to participate, I feel that those companies had something to hide or didn’t have a very good argument. What are your thoughts on this?

By: meaghin

meaghin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:15:31 +0000

I enjoyed your review of Food Inc. I found the movie worthwhile because of the visual images of the shocking size of industrial food farms (and of course the animals) and the interviews with the helpless middle men: the small town farmers.

I do agree that much of what the movie said was one sided–I also found myself thinking ‘yes, producing cheap, fast food is ultimately hurting our nation’s health and our small farmers, but because we live in such a large country, what do we do from here?’. I went into the movie expecting some suggestions besides ‘buy local’.

By: Farmers’ Market Cooking: Zucchini and Swiss Chard Tart « ModernDomestic

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:06:10 +0000

[...] Food Inc. must have gotten to me, because I actually made it down to the Mount Pleasant Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning. I decided to do a little experiment and see what it was like to do my weekly grocery shopping at the Farmers’ Market, rather than the Giant. Granted, there were a couple items that I couldn’t get there, like olive oil, savory thins (the world’s best cracker), and tupperware, but I scored some lovely produce and a beautiful hunk of goat cheese. THe Mount Pleasant Farmers' Market, on Saturday morning. [...]

By: catdaddio42

catdaddio42 — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:24:09 +0000

Why don’t you just eat your version of “healthy” and leave the rest of us alone? Anti-technology activism is vile, cynical, racist propaganda. Unwarranted, excessive regulation, including unnecessary labeling requirements, discourages innovation, and imposes costs that are passed along to the consumer and are a disproportionate burden on the poor. The actions of irresponsible activists like the promoters of the Food, Inc. franchise are most damaging to the weakest and most vulnerable among us. Flawed public policy that prevents the diffusion and availability of critical technologies and products can be lethal: remember the fight for anti-HIV cocktail back in the Reagan era?

By: moderndomestic

moderndomestic — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:25:53 +0000

That’s a good point – that we need people on fringe to make the point so people in the center can change the policy.

I think that part of my dislike of a black/white debate (besides that entirely overhauling the food system is just unrealistic) is from growing up in the Pacific Northwest, where I felt like everyone was SO liberal that they couldn’t ever admit that any other viewpoint could possibly be valid. Now that type of thinking just drives me nuts!

By: Amelia

Amelia — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:50:58 +0000

I’ve also been wavering about whether or not to see this movie. I’ve read all those same books, so I don’t think I’d get any new information out of seeing the film. And it does drive me bonkers when things are painted in overly moralistic black and white terms. I’ve even been attacked in comments on other blogs for suggesting that incremental changes towards better food production practices are better than no change at all. Criticizing every aspect of our food system makes it hard to distinguish the bigger problems from the smaller problems, and also makes it impossible to have a real dialogue with the people in a position to effect change.

That said, in some ways it’s good for people to be out there agitating so stridently, because it makes moderate positions seem palatable by comparison.

By: Kayanna

Kayanna — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:22:49 +0000

GREAT entry. I haven’t seen the film, but I feel that this is a balanced critique and am confident taking this criticism into mind when deciding whether to go see it. And if I don’t go see it, I feel like I got the major points already. Thanks!

By: moderndomestic

moderndomestic — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:50:24 +0000

Glad you like the blog, and thanks for the comment!

It’s not that I don’t think that the food industry is problematic, or that its practices aren’t inhumane (especially to animals and workers). It’s just that I hate it when activists paint the other side as “evil,” without trying to understand their point of view or why they do what they do. It seems like if we want to change the food system, the food industry is going to be involved, and calling the other side names doesn’t really facilitate dialogue. Plus it just means that Monsanto and their like going to come back with their own version of “name calling” (like this site: http://www.monsanto.com/foodinc/default.asp). I also think that it doesn’t make for great documentaries – by the end of the movie I was just like “Dude, I get it. They’re evil. Can you say something else, please?”

By: Dominic Cosmano

Dominic Cosmano — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:14:31 +0000

Hey Jenna,
Abigail tuned me in here. Nice article. I am about one third in on the Omnivore’s Dilemma and am riveted. I just went pescatarian about 2 months ago, and reading Pollen has reaffirmed my decision. I’m new to the whole food politics thing, but from what I have gleaned thus far agribusiness is “evil” at least in terms of the treatment of the animals.

Thanks for the insights and I’ll tune in again.