I finally watched Food Inc last week. Thank you Netflix instant play feature on my PS3!
I thought for sure this was going to be one of those movies — that shifts everything, that changes everything I eat, that’s going to finally show me exactly what to do to keep my daughter healthy.
But it wasn’t. Well, not exactly anyways.
The movie is absolutely full of shocking video and disturbing information about the food industry. It’s presented very well – with personal stories to facts about various livestock farming, corn crops, and the ways in which large corporations cut corners. There was even a very sad story of a woman who lost her 2 1/2 year old to E Coli. Of course, this shocked and saddened me…and I couldn’t stop thinking about what the things I feed Mila and hoping that I was making the right choices.
But I kept asking the same question throughout the whole movie–sorry Denis, I kept blurting it out rather vehemently. Are they going to give me a clear plan to keep my family healthy? Or are they just going to lead me to some state of hysteria and give me nothing to take action on? I even yelled, “They better give me a clear action plan!”
Sadly, the take action part was at the end of the movie in the form of scrolling titles…and, I guess part of me was disappointed. While I read the nice subtle titles and did get the basics on what to do, I felt like they didn’t match the smack in the face from the rest of the movie. In fact, I think with so many people unaware of how to keep their families healthy, an in your face approach to “this is what you should do” was necessary.
I was sadly disappointed with this documentary. (Could you tell?) There was so much potential to create change. Everyone knows and expects documentaries to have a strong point of view. But along with the point of view, give us a strategy and a guide to surpass and overcome the evils of the food/beef/corn/farming industry. Man up and tell us what you really think.
Maybe I was expecting too much or asking for someone to hold me by the hand, but I do think the filmmakers had a choice to be super clear — and potentially get a lot of people walking down a healthier path.
Unfortunately, for me, I felt the movie was targeted at people who kind of already know what to do, as opposed to people who truly need the education.
I’m going to err on the side of caution and watch it again. Maybe I was having an off day!
I’d love to know what you thought of the movie. Leave a comment below and convince me why I should LOVE the movie! Maybe you can snap me out of my disdain and disappointment!
*Update! Upon doing a quick search for Food Inc. information, I did discover their website and blog. My wish is still that this movie had lessons that were a little more accessible to the group of people who would most benefit from it. Hopefully, getting their message out even more is only a matter of time.
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