Food, Inc.

Sadly, indeed, most of us are unaware of how our country’s food industry works. Who knew that there are over 47,000 different products in the typical food market? Is the food really safe? Are the slaughter houses being held accountable by the rules and regulations that are in place to ensure the safety of all the meat? “Food, Inc.” is a documentary about how the food industry in America has become dominated by huge companies in recent years. It attempts to investigate and expose what’s really going on behind closed doors. It shows how many of the farmers in America today have become “slaves” to the large companies that control about 80-90% of the food industry. The film looks at how chicken, beef, pork, corn, and soy beans are being raised and processed.

In any documentary, the creator(s) of the film will have a specific agenda. They will be biased. The makers of “Food, Inc.” tell their story from a strictly secular point of view, which includes them pointing to the theory of evolution. For example, the film shows the dirty conditions of a large cattle farm. In these feed lots; the cattle are being fed corn. In the past, cattle used to eat grass, but they didn’t grow to be as big, and it also took more time until the cattle were ready to be slaughtered. Now, with corn fed cattle, they grower bigger and faster that ever before. A man in the film claims that cattle were “designed by evolution to not eat corn, they evolved on grass.”

The film centers around some of the major food producing companies which include Tyson (the world’s largest poultry producing company), Smithfield (the company with the country’s largest slaughter house located in N.C.), and Monsanto (a company that produces most of the patented soy beans). The viewer should keep in mind that this film is exclusively one-sided, while taking into consideration that all major companies declined to be interviewed by the makers of this film.

Parts of the film were mildly disturbing, if you are sensitive to animal “cruelty.” I say this with reservation because God clearly does not condemn the slaughtering of animals (Gen. 9:2-3). A farmer is shown gutting a chicken and another farmer is shown disposing of a number of dead ones. There is also a woman who lost her young son from E. coli poisoning from eating a hamburger. The mother of this child admits “she will never get over the loss of her child, but finds a new normal.” At this point, the agenda of the film becomes personal.

Other than seeing the sad and unnatural living conditions of the farm animals, the movie is very clean. There is not one use of profanity or sexual reference. As a committed follower of Christ, I would recommend this film to anyone, as long as you are aware that the makers claim evolution as truth, when the truth is that God has revealed to us that He alone created everything living and non-living on Earth (Genesis 1-2, Psalm 139:13-14, Psalm 19:1). However, I believe they have good intentions to try and limit the power of these multi-million dollar companies and help Uncle Sam get back to honest, healthy, and wholesome food grown and produced by honest American farmers. At the end of the film, one farmer says, “People need to demand good, wholesome food and we’ll deliver. I promise ya that.” Please pray for America’s farmers.

The film also gives good tips on how we can help America afford healthier food and put a stop to the prevalence of obesity caused by the over abundance of processed foods.

Violence: None / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: None

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