Three Films About Food

If you've ever wondered how much mercury the tuna you are eating has in it, why farmers have to buy new seed every year, why so many things in the grocery store have corn in them, what the buzz is behind the local food movement, or any other of a host of food-related questions then I recommend these three films as place to start finding answers. Food Inc.:  This film is trying to answer the question: “What is wrong with our food system and how to did come to be this way?” Drawing from Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation" the filmmakers try to set forth a history of the industrialization of food and the consequences of that change for America. It is an entertaining and journalistically well-researched account of a lot of negatives of our food system (rampant diabetes, chemicals in processed foods, animal cruelty) and some positives as well (farmer Joel Salatin, practical ways about how you can make a change). It was nominated for an Oscar in 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0 The Cove: The Cove tells the story of a group of eco-activists clandestinely trying to expose the mass-slaughtering of dolphins in a tiny cove in Japan. The trailer watches more like a James Bond movie than a tame nature documentary. This film is like mission impossible meets Food Inc. for fish. I couldn't stop watching. Also, it won the Oscar in 2010 for Best documentary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KRD8e20fBo Fast Food Nation: Fast Food Nation is a fictionalized version of Eric Schlosser’s book of the same name. The story centers on a beef processing plant in Colorado, and tells the stories of several characters - an ad exec who buys meat from the plant, a Mexican immigrant who works there, a group of student activists who want to shut it down - detailing various injustices that each of them encounter as they learn more about exactly what goes on at the plant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc_z623Wsro