A blog about cities, buildings, and the people who make them work.

Be sure not to walk into the theater toting one of those artificially buttered tubs of popcorn from the concession stand. Keep your bottled water at home. Robert Kenner’s documentary “Food, Inc.” is an on-target lesson on the backwards and corrupt American food industry. I don’t think anyone would expect a movie that features Michael Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” 2006) and Eric Schlosser, who wrote “Fast Food Nation” (2001) to be soft in laying out the facts. However, don’t confuse this film with one that’s against eating meat or against farming. That’s hardly the case here. In one of my favorite scenes, Eric Schlosser eats what he says is his favorite meal: a juicy hamburger and fries. “Food, Inc.” has a clear antagonist, large American food companies such as Smithfield and Monsanto, and also clear protagonists, organic farmers such as Joel Salatin and food activists fighting for better food quality.

The film is divided into chapters dedicated to pointing out flaws in the food system. From the very beginning we learn that food has changed more in the past 50 years than the previous 1,000. We are reminded that there are no seasons in the supermarket, and that most meals are shipped more than 1,500 miles before eaten. If you’ve read either “Fast Food Nation” or “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” you won’t be surprised by these statistics or the stories about the killing floors. In fact, it’s really a good summary of what the books go into much more detail about. The film touches on topics ranging from the fast-food chains where consumers stuff down industrially produced meat with a side of E. coli, to corn used as a cheap universal feed for chickens, cows, and even for fish, not to mention the corn products that somehow end up in candy, soft drinks, batteries, and almost everything else.

What “Food, Inc.” does really well is presenting the viewer with dozens of other documentaries tucked inside this one. The Orozco family tries buying local food, but finds it cheaper to fill up on fast food. A tearful woman and her mother lobby Congress for stricter food safety policies after her 2-year-old son, Kevin, died from a burger with E. coli. The section on agricultural giant Monsanto is particularly interesting. All of these stories are worthy of their own documentaries.

There are also bits of comedy in this inherently morbid story. Organic farmer Joel Salatin seems completely satisfied slaughtering his chickens outside, the way it was supposed to be done. And his free-ranging livestock seem, well, happy, especially when he talks to them. When an different organic farmer happily tells a Wal-Mart representative that her family has been boycotting Wal-Mart for years, you can’t help laughing.

Bottom line: there’s something horribly wrong with a system in which a bag of chips cost less than a bag of vegetables. Mr. Salatin sums it up well by saying any company who reduces animals to a business of biological and chemical systems will view people the same way. Kenner’s movie is certainly not one that tries to scare people away from eating meat (though it may do so) but rather one that sheds light on the injustices and inconsistencies of our food system.
 (x)