DVD Review: "Food Inc."

It's no secret that the food industry isn't exactly... let's say, genuine. We know about the large amount of preservatives that are injected into the majority of the food we buy at the supermarket. Not to mention that fast food almost can't be considered "real" food, due to how processed it is. I guess the first thing we should ask ourselves is, "how do we know all of this in the first place?". Well, ever since the now classic documentary "Super Size Me" gave people a behind the scene's look at what goes on behind the fast food counter, we have become more aware of the health risks that come with eating a big mac. Over the past years, numerous news segments and documentaries have made us aware of the other negative aspects of food production... most notably what goes on in the dreaded slaughter house. All of this and more is described in "Food Inc."

This can be considered the mothership of everything related to the food industry. And while it's convenient that's it's all packed into a nice 90 minute documentary... it's really nothing new. I really wanted to be enlightened and shocked by the information that was shared with me, but I've seen it all before. I know that corn is in almost every food product; I know that the meat industry cares more about money more than our health; I know that food is genetically altered for easier distribution and customer consumption. It was basically taking all of the info from the past several years and reiterating it. I'm not saying that it's a bad documentary because of this... it's just not all that original, and very little of it surprised me.

However, political aspects pertaining to certain food companies were introduced... and I have to say, they were rather interesting. The way they were portrayed would make one relate these large corporations to SPECTRE (the evil organization that showed up in several James Bond Flicks). They are all attempting to overtake the food industry in the same way the SPECTRE tried to rule the world. On a diferent note, it's always hard, as well as heartbreaking, to watch footage from the slaughterhouses. It may not be pleasant, but I think it's important for everyone to see some of this footage, and plenty of it is shown throughout this film ( and, believe it or not, the footage in this film is the most "viewer friendly" footage I've seen).

While it had it's moments, I found this movie to be interesting... but it didn't have much of an impact on me because I'm familiar with most of the information that's presented. I'm sure many people will find this movie to be an eye opener (not everyone has family members who are semi-health freaks like yours truly), and it's definitely well-made and has a clear message. I almost wish I could have viewed it knowing nothing about the food industry, so I could get the full effect.

My Rating: 5 out of 10