8/20/2009 11:52:00 AM
OUR VIEW
Documentary film 'Food, Inc.' shows only one side of story
What would you think of a newspaper story that presented only one side of an issue?
You'd call it shoddy journalism.
That's exactly the impression left by the new documentary film "Food, Inc." In it, the director and producers present a portion of the picture of production agriculture, in the process building a case in favor of locally produced, organic food.
However, huge parts of the story were left out.
For example:
n The film several times shows Humane Society of the United States video of "downer" cows that was secretly taken at a California slaughter plant. However, it makes no mention that the USDA inspector general has found that the agency's budget was inadequate to inspect properly the cattle at the plant. They also forgot to mention that the plant is no longer in business.
n Film footage of feedlots leads viewers to believe that all cattle spend their entire lives there instead of spending a short time on feed before going to slaughter.
n A portion of the film focuses on farmers who save soybean and corn seed. Farmers who buy patented seeds cannot save their the seed. Seed dealers tell them that, and over the past several years it has been discussed at length in the farm community. That this should be presented as a surprise to anyone is disingenuous, to say the least. Read More
Food Inc. continues to make it’s tour around the country, misinforming viewers about agriculture. Basically it comes down to the integrity and honesty of the main principles of the movie. They know they made a movie that that only shows one side of the issue, and used sensationalism and innuendo to characterize current production models. Yet they tried to pass this off as a documentary. Their agenda is obvious to many, they should just be honest with themselves and the public.
2 comments:
I think instead of wasting your time criticizing Food, Inc - you should realize that movies like this and books by Michael Pollan are creating a niche market of consumers concerned about the well being of animals and thus, are willing to pay more for your beef. From what I gathered from your blog, you are doing things right - now you just need to learn how to market yourself.
Sounds like the producers of Food, Inc. like the logical fallacy of cherry picking.
To have only one side of an issue is no better than being uninformed. People can make wise decisions only if they know both sides of an issue.
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