Food, Inc. ~ A Second Look

We saw the documentary Food, Inc. about two years ago and tonight we watched it again. I noticed this time I found myself wishing it went into more detail about each of the topics. After reading, discussing, researching, and learning a lot these past few years I realized the film barely scratches the surface, covering only a tiny fraction of the stories that can be told about the ways we grow, choose, prepare, and eat food.

But I realize it's a documentary aimed at someone who is just starting to be curious about where their food comes from and what sustainable agriculture even means. I suppose it would take a series of documentaries, not to mention a large budget and many years of filming, to really capture an in-depth discussion of the challenges and joys of food today in America.

Remember the lady raising the chickens for Purdue? Her frustration and disappointment with industrial chicken methods were evident in the film. I've often wondered what became of her story after the documentary and now I know ~ she's happily raising free-range chickens!

One of the things I enjoyed during this viewing was the opportunity to pause the film and talk with our kids about many of the topics that came up, as it was the first time they've seen it. We talk about health, nutrition, and gardening a lot at our house so naturally food is a frequent topic.

I like to play the devil's advocate sometimes because I don't just want them to absorb information, I want them to think about it, ask questions, and realize there is usually more than one side to a story. It's easy to paint the world as black and white, but the reality is much more complex. We tend to think in terms of  "us versus them" but that is a subjective notion and the list of those who are with us or against us often depends on the current social climate and, of course, personal perspective.

People need to think about how we got into the mess that is our current food system and learn from our mistakes so we can move forward with insight and experience. We can be part of the solution. This is what I want my kids to understand.

The other thing that I came away with from this second look is how much we've changed our priorities since the last viewing. At the end of the film is a list of things folks can do to help move in a better direction in regards to our food system. I was surprised at how many things we are actually doing now. We are often looking for ways to do better and to educate ourselves, but when it's slow going sometimes it easy to feel like we haven't made any progress. Seeing the list this time reminds me that we've accomplished a lot more than we've given ourselves credit for. We've slowly but surely shifted our energy, time, and money into things that are quite meaningful to us and that feels awesome.