Entry #EC Time for a Movie Review

Recently I watched the documentary by Robert Kenner called "Food, inc." The documentary features well known agricultural journalist Michael Pollan and investigative journalist Eric Schlosser.
After watching the film, it was evident that we in America have some serious agricultural problems related to the foods we eat. I took away some of the following points from the film

• Farmer's are slaves to the corporations. They get no say.
• The overproduction of products like corn have led to a push in creating chemicals and fillers out of the extra products produced.
• Corporations have significant influence over the laws and subsidies that were initially meant to protect farmers.
• The system has created a culture where good healthy foods are un-affordable and unhealthy foods are incredibly cheap. 
•  Food safety is less important than preserving commodity production.
• Monsanto has created a monopoly on the genetics of plants. They have become the big brother of the farming industry.
• Companies are lobbying to make it illegal to criticize and speak publicly against food products.

These revelations about the food industry are deeply concerning. At one point in the film they discussed a bill that was introduced to congress known as Kevin's Law. It was created in response to the death of a two year old child from E. coli O157:H7. It was never signed in to law. In my previous post I talked about the impact of E. coli and how even in 2016 there were still outbreaks of the bacteria in our food system. It is a great example of how the massive corporations have lobbied against food safety initiatives in order to protect their profits and interests.

There are many other problems associated with our food industry. Food, inc helps to pinpoint and express the struggles of farmers and consumers against the big corporations. There are no easy answers in determining the right course of action, however, one thing remains clear; something has to change because our agricultural system cannot continue in the way that it has without significant harm to businesses, consumers, and the environment.