Food, Inc.

Robert Kenner’s 2008 documentary, Food, Inc, shocked thousands of Americans by exposing several less than glamorous components, power, and dangers of the American food industry today. It is extremely well done, and uses a variety of interviews and facts to illustrate its point, albeit, a very biased one. Kenner should be commended for his brilliant job directing the film, as it reached out to thousands of people, and attracted many significant figures for its interviews, such as Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation.

However, my praises of Food, Inc end there. Despite its popularity and effect on the American people, I found myself not seeing eye to eye with Kenner on several different issues in the film. Two of the major complaints Kenner has and dives into in Food Inc is that one, large food companies have wiped out smaller companies, and are overseeing the production of a large variety of foods, and two, that there are artificial preservatives and sweeteners and virtually everything that we eat today. The fact that larger food companies such as Tyson have effectively taken over the food industry is not troubling to me in any fashion. In fact, I may even see myself as an advocate for these companies. My reasoning for this is that the food industry today is producing results unparalleled in history. Many foods are now cheaper than they have been before, and the variety of food we are offered year round is tremendous. Yes, it is unfortunate that some small business owners have lost their jobs because of this shift to large company production, but ultimately, that is a risk you take when starting a small business. Small businesses in all fields are sometimes wiped out by larger, more powerful companies. Also, Kenner seems very concerned with the fact that companies are producing large quantities and varieties of foods. Although this may seem overly simple, my only response to this is, “so what?” So what is large food companies such as Coca Cola and Pepsi have branched out, so what if Tyson is producing several varieties of meat? Most of the food produced by these companies is still very good and nutritious.

Another issue raised in the film is the fact that artificial sweeteners and preservatives are rampant in the food industry today. There is more taste in most foods today than there ever has been before, and you can buy nearly any fruit or vegetable anytime of the year, regardless of whether or not they are in season. After watching this portion of the film, my response was again, “so what?” So what if you can buy a tomato any time of the year? The film states that the tomatoes are treated with chemicals in order to grow faster and are then shipped worldwide. So what? I don’t have an issue with eating a tomato that has been treated with chemicals so it will grow faster, or that it originated half way around the globe, if it still tastes the same and is nutritious, I’m going to continue to buy and eat tomatoes regardless of season. Many might claim that you can taste a difference in chemically treated chemicals, but I’m willing to bet an overwhelming majority of Americans, myself included, cannot taste the difference.

All of this being said, there are two issues raised in this film that I admit must be addressed. One, healthy, natural foods should not be more expensive than fast food. This is a grave problem in the United States, particularly in lower income areas. This obviously poses a tremendous health risk. I understand that it may be impossible to fix, as growing and shipping natural foods is a much greater task than grilling hamburgers, but it must be addressed immediately. Another issue of this film I agree with is that no one should ever lose their life simply because they ate a hamburger. The story of the young boy who died of an e coli infection, and his mother’s resulting sorrow, was devastating. There is simply no excuse for this and his mother should continue to pursue justice for her child’s death.

Source of image: http://sustainability.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/food-inc-poster.jpg