Food, Inc.

"I'm always struck by how successful we have been at hitting the bull's-eye of the wrong target." --Joel Salatin

(2008) Magnolia Pictures Documentary
Starring Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser
Directed by Robert Kenner
Produced by Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
Running time: 94 minutes
Rated PG

Holy cow... (holy pig, holy chicken) I am off meat.
And after perusing all the labels on the garbage in my cupboards, I'm now asking myself a question I've heard my freaky Austinite friends ask a thousand times: Why are you ingesting crap you can't even pronounce? Because it's cheap and easy like that girl you scored in high school. Is your body going to be preserved through all eternity when your six feet under? Probably. Does the prepackaged stuff you buy even taste good? If you're hungry enough. My kid thinks so, but what the heck does he know? He's three and adamant that a Ritz cracker is a cookie. So I made a decision tonight. Even if it means buying less food for my family, I am buying organic as much as possible. Don't scowl at me, bacon-lovers. I know I'm joining the dark side. But I've been over there before. I went vegetarian for about five years after watching a scare-flick just like this one. It's the sushi that got me back on carnivore road. Sushi is my gateway meat, and you don't often see graphic testimonials concerning the inhumane treatment of salmon roe. That being said...

About this movie--I cried and I friggin' cried, and when my eyes started to burn, I cried some more. If you are faint at heart and you don't like seeing nasty things happen to cute animals, then you should definitely watch this film. Especially if you're eating said animals. If the sad sack critters don't push your (belly)button, maybe the unacceptable treatment of workers and farmers will. Remember when Oprah made that comment about eating a burger? Remember the lawsuits? Yeah, that was my hometown. I recall feeling sorry for the good ol' boy cattleman my daddy knew and scoffing at Oprah's all-star lineup from the steps of the Amarillo courthouse. I thought it was all about publicity, but I take it back. Oprah is amazing. Goddess bless Oprah. I'll step down off my soapbox now, but I won't apologize for the climb.

This film is so well done (pun intended). I'm such a sucker for intros, and this one is visually clever and informative, so I was hooked from the get-go as the narrator declared, "In the meat aisle, there are no bones anymore." Did you know that McDonalds is one of our nations leading purchasers of apples? This tidbit made me cackle like a mad woman. Where the hell does that put Mickey D's in the rating for cow purchases? Lord and Master? Ugh. I've gotten food poisoning from there more than once. How stupid am I for going back? Very. What is it about this fast food we love so much? If you knew one little burger was going to kill your kid in less than two weeks, would you pull on in that drive-thru? Probably not. But we trust our government and we trust commercials, and we trust all those big pretty pictures of the farms on the labels. It's all a crock. Ask Kevin's mom. Or better yet, watch Kevin's story.

4/5 spiders...for making me think.
And if you want to make a difference, ask questions.
http://www.takepart.com/foodinc