Food, Inc. Review

In the 2009 documentary "Food, Inc.", the film's crew seeks the opinions of industrial farmers, organic farmers, big agricultural representatives, and consumer safety advocates to explain the current system of agriculture within the United States. This film brings to light many troubling aspects of the way we feed our country, from the appallingly cruel and unsanitary conditions of factory farms to the abusive business practices of agriculture giants such as Monsanto. The crew interviews a number of farmers, both factory and organic, who attest to the far reaching harms of factory farming such as antibiotic resistance and E. coli outbreaks. One of the challenges that the film crew faced was obtaining interviews with farmers about the industry, as there are heavy legal restrictions placed on speaking out against it. Filming inside factory far,S was also very difficult for the team, as was obtaining interviews with representatives of the largest companies in big agro. "Food, Inc." also addresses the extremely close ties between agriculture and the agencies that are supposed to regulate it. The film reports that many former executives of the largest agricultural conglomerates go on to hold high offices in agencies such as the FDA and the EPA. Unsurprisingly, these former executives champion policies that give a tremendous advantage to big agro, such as high corn subsidies and ad-gag laws that prevent negative press about the industry.