Food Inc. Film Analysis

Food Inc., directed by Richard Kenner, is a documentary film that highlights the discrepancies of the industrial food system that has transformed the industry. The documentary makes the claim that, in short, the industrialization of the food industry is costing the American consumer in terms of environment and health. However, Food Inc. fails to address how the industrialization of the food industry has, in fact, also been a benefit to America on these same issues. First, the documentary as it ties into the coursework will be discussed at length. The credibility of the documentary will be analyzed, as measured by the inclusion of facts and evidence, as well as any bias that may exist within the presentation of the documentary. Thirdly, I will discuss facts about food industry policymaking that I did not know before watching this film.

The state of Texas is a national leader in the agriculture and farming industries (USDA ERS). Food Inc., then, is a highly relevant documentary as it pertains to Texas politics. As far as this particular course, many subjects that have been directly addressed in the course are discussed in the documentary.

Moralistic vs. Individualistic government policy was discussed in chapter one of this course. Texas notoriously legislates individualistic policy, which primarily values the interests of business, as opposed to the consumers’ individual protection. The documentary asserts that the food industry, which has become increasingly industrialized and increasingly under-regulated, is hazardous to the health of the consumer. The fact that this documentary is even in existence lends credibility to their assertions, that people ought to know the true origins of their food, as opposed to “the veil” that is currently placed over the industrialized food industry. The industry in its current state is a prime example of individualistic interests being favored over moralistic government policy.

Business-dominant policymaking is a topic that stems from Texas’ individualistic government policy. Along with the lack of information being presented by the industrial food industry, other policies that favor large agricultural businesses have also been put into effect. Most notable of these policies is the corn subsidy that has been enacted, which allows producers of corn to produce and distribute corn to manufacturers below the cost of production. The result of this is an industry that produces corn on a large scale, which allows food manufacturers to use corn in creative ways to create products while keeping costs low.

The influx of Hispanics in the industry workforce, most notably Mexican immigrants, is an issue that is addressed in the documentary. Undocumented workers are being hired and even recruited from Mexico to do the grunt work on these industrialized farms. These immigrant jobs range from working in slaughterhouses to picking crops. The availability and willingness of these workers to work below minimum wage rates is the motivation for the industry to continue hiring illegal immigrants to do this work. A lack of federal oversight has contributed to the issue.

Interest groups and lobbyists are a large part of the industrialized agriculture and farm industries. Currently, 80% of the meat market is controlled by 4% percent of companies in the industry; as opposed to below 25% in 1970 (Kenner) This statistic, cited by the documentary, is an example of how large corporations have gained control of the majority of our food production. In this scenario, large corporate lobbyists wield a great deal of control over policymaking that, as we learned before, is highly individualistic and business-centric in the state of Texas. This has compounded what the documentary asserts is a problem in the American food industry.

Overall, the film does a good job of providing evidence to many of their claims. References to recent legislation are factual and numerous, such as the enactment to increase corn subsidies in the United States, in accordance with the current Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs act of 2013 (S. 10). Additionally, many first-hand accounts are cited, and the documentary makes a point to display the plight of the local farmer by portraying them as the victim to a corrupt industrialized political system. According to the interviewees, the farmers have no choice but to enter contracts with these conglomerate giants.

This is without a question of a biased documentary in its purest form. Each subject and interview addressed was accompanied by a melancholy background melody, and graphic visual images of mistreated animals were strategically placed to create an emotional response from the viewer. Most importantly, the documentary makes no attempt to present the other side of the argument, casually and inaccurately dismissing all current agricultural legislation as corporate greed in a corrupt capitalist system. Some of the facts presented as hazardous or dangerous are not actually demonstrated to cause any adverse health effects. A notable example of this is the fact that chickens are now grown at a much faster rate than they once were, in order to keep up with manufacturing demand for white meat. The result is large chickens that grow quickly, in addition to growing twice the amount of breast meat as a “regular” traditionally-grown chicken. There is no mention of how a genetically engineered chicken specifically harms the consumer.

I learned a great deal while watching this documentary. For one, I had no idea the prevalence of former corporate partners that held office in regulatory positions of government. Among these individuals are Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a former Monsanto attorney, and Robert Shapiro, an advisor of the Clinton Administration and former CEO of Monsanto (Kenner). For the unaware, Monsanto is a large corporation that focuses primarily on agricultural chemistry to make farming more efficient and developing products that increase agricultural production (Kenner). Blame has been directed at Monsanto's ethics for the increased industrialization of the agriculture industry. The second fact that I was previously unaware of was that federal regulation of the agriculture industry has declined sharply, from 35,000 per year in 1970 to 7,000 today (Furchtgott-Roth). The government is paying less attention to the food Americans are consuming.

After assessing the facts presented by the documentary and elsewhere, it is apparent that there is a significant problem within the industrialized food industry, leading to real health and environmental problems that simply should not be ignored by the consumers of these products. However, the population could stand to benefit from a more even-handed approach toward tackling this issue, rather than simply ignoring the positive effects of industrialization. In this way, we could seek a solution that benefits both the consumer as well as the industry professional.

Personal Review of Food, Inc.

I thought that Food, Inc was a commendable effort to raise awareness of malpractice in today’s food industry. However, I feel that the documentary goes way too far in painting big business as a national villain to be hated by all. The documentary fails to even mention the positive effects of industrialized food, namely, that hunger, a global issue, is closer than ever to being resolved. The practices used are creating bigger, meatier animals, and bigger more plentiful crops, at a fraction of traditional costs. To many third world countries, this is borderline miracle work that we are practicing here in the United States. That being said, there are many improvements that can be made to maximize the benefit while minimizing the consequence of this practice, and Food, Inc. takes a step in the right direction toward tackling these issues.

Works Cited

Furchtgott-Roth, Diana. "Center for State and Local Leadership at the Manhattan Institute." Center for State and Local Leadership at the Manhattan Institute. Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Inc., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. <http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/csll.htm#infrastructure>.

Kenner, Robert, dir. Food, Inc. Magnolia Pictures, 2008. Film. 2 Mar 2014.

"S.10 - Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013." Congress.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. <http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/10>.

"USDA ERS - Home: FAQs." USDA ERS - Home: FAQs. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.