Documentary+Reviews+for+Unit+on+Food+Safety

===I was trying to find a documentary to open my unit on America's Food Safety. These are reviews for documentaries that I found on Amazon. I decided to go with //Food Inc//. It shows many problems with America's food industry. To be honest, I feel that it is a bit biased, and I do not agree with everything it shows; however, I think it does a good job at bringing awareness to the food industry, which is definitely not perfect. It is interesting, and I think students will like it. I am planning my unit for 8th graders.=== = = = = =Sweet Remedy: The World Reacts to an Adulterated Food Supply (2006)= [] //REVIEW// Can you trust the FDA to protect your health? Absolutely not! Despite recieving thousands of very serious complaints about health problems and bad reactions to Aspartame, the FDA refuses to act in the best interest of consumers. Sweet Remedy provides a compelling documentary of the corruption that accompanied this product to it's FDA approval, and a first hand look at the damage it has wreaked on people's health.

As a person who has suffered greatly from the effects of Aspartame poisoning (methanol poisoning), I can relate first hand to the other victims of this toxic sweetener and the disbelief that those beloved 'diet cokes' could be the cause of the maladies (especially by the medical community). You must educate yourself on this and other toxins. I lost many prime years suffering from headaches, memory loss, chronic fatigue, dizziness, and my thinking became so clouded I had to use a calculator to add simple numbers like I was back in first grade again. Thank god for the internet and the ability to find information! That is how I discovered the connection to my health problems and drinking diet cokes (the doctors would have NEVER offered that as a solution). As a consumer - be aware, be very aware.....

=Bad Seed: The Truth About Our Food (2006)= [] //REVIEW// If you didn't know that 60% of food sold in North America contains ingredients of genetically modified plants and that the ingredients are hazardous to human health and the planet, you will really know it after seeing this video. "Bad Seed - The Truth About Our Food" is a relatively low budget but highly effective documentary with a gripping story and credible information. The video contains interviews with a wide range of experts as well as just activists and farmers. Unlike many documentaries this one doesn't include a bunch of cheesey footage from public domain stock footage from the 50s and 60s. Intead it uses parodies of Monsanto ads to add a little spice of humor. The animation sequences are good and there is a segment on the evils of Monsanto that really brings the message home. This video is not nearly as polished or as boring as the other documentary on GMOs "The Future of Food" and focuses more on the health consequences of GMOs rather than the impact on agriculture. If you eat, you must watch this video, otherwise you won't really know what you are eating or the consequences of your eating choices. =King Corn (Standard Packaging) (2007)= [] //REVIEW// King Corn is kind of like [|Super Size Me]'s little brother. It traces the pervasive influence of corn on modern America, including the obesity epidemic and the fact that Iowa is growing trillions of bushels of *non-edible* corn to continue receiving lucrative government subsidies. College buddies Ian and Curt, both from the east coast, discover that they both had distant relatives from the same small town of Greene, Iowa. Ian and Curt decide to go to Iowa and plant one acre of corn, following it through its lifecycle, including where it goes after the harvest.

The film starts off slowly as the reasons for the trip are explained. The prerequisite talking heads introduce some scary factoids about how Americans are literally made of corn; if you do a hair analysis, it's like a diet diary, and the vast majority of the American diet (corn-fed beef, fast foods and processed foods) contains corn derivatives. Much of the corn we ingest is in the guise of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a cheaper alternative to sugar that is produced via a scary chemical conversion involving several toxic acids. HFCS has been directly linked to the current obesity crisis and its impact on Type II Diabetes (the body processes HFCS differently from table sugar). Prior to the 1970s, hardly any company used HFCS due to its high cost. But after then-Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz did away with the old New Deal market control policies in favor of rapid expansion in 1973, there was a constant surplus of cheap (and non-edible) corn, fueling the rapid expansion of the corn syrup industry. Here's a quick test: walk into any convenience store and count how many items contain corn, specifically corn syrup. The list includes obvious choices like soda and candy, but you'll also find HFCS in deli meats, breads, ketchup, pickle relish, spaghetti sauce, and cough syrup. Oh yes, and one main variety of corn grown in Iowa (Liberty) is genetically modified, as is at least one ingredient in HFCS manufacturing.

Corn production geared towards ethanol is briefly mentioned, but the majority of the focus in King Corn is on the impact of non-edible corn on the nation's food supply. In this respect, it's kind of a gentler version of Supersize Me; there's no shock value for the most part. Also mentioned is the disastrous consequence of converting cattle from grazing animals to force-fed confined ones. Cattle normally forage for a plant-based diet, but it is far more profitable to bring them up to market weight by forcing them to stand still and eat continuously. In addition, the acids present in corn cause deadly ulcers for the cows, who are slaughtered before developing acidosis. The end result is that 70% of the antibiotics in the US are used on livestock (antibiotics combat both the acidosis and the infections resulting from confinement). Literally everything at McDonald's contains corn: your hamburger is corn-fed, the bun contains HFCS, your soda contains HFCS, the French fries are fried in corn (or soybean) oil, and your ketchup and pickle contains HFCS. Ditto for most vending machine foods, frozen dinners, and anything you don't make from scratch. It's extremely difficult to escape buying foods containing corn, since a variety of pseudonyms are used, including baking powder, caramel color, dextrose, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, stearic acid, and vanilla, making it a nightmare for anyone with corn allergies.

Perhaps the most effective element is that of nostalgia. Ian and Curt also take time to find their long-lost relatives in Greene, and to reflect on the rapid changes in our recently agrarian society that have forced farmers to maintain massive farms harvesting non-edible corn. In other words, the farmer can't even feed himself with what he's growing. Without the hefty government subsidies, such large-scale corn operations would be out of business. They interview various farmers and ranchers who are disgusted with the system, but who have little real choice (one farmer says flatly, "We're growing crap!"). We're shown the evolution of farming equipment and of the family farm itself as a quaint reminder of the past; there are nostalgic shots of Main Street and hometown parades, quiet diners and local bars.

Ian and Curt's visual style is playful; the charts and graphs are hand-drawn, interspersed with stop-motion plastic farm toys to get the point across (and the dancing corn on the map of the US was great, too). The quirky soundtrack is a standout as well. DVD extras include some outtakes, a music video, bios, and some great 1950s-style educational clips. King Corn is a thought-provoking look at the old adage "You are what you eat," and boy, it's scary.

=Food Inc. (2009)= [] //REVIEW// "Food, Inc." does more than serve as an exposé on the United States food industry--it connects the dots between the nefarious, contemptuous business practices of multinational corporations and their best friends, the compromised government regulatory agencies such as the USDA, FDA, and EPA, who have in the past been led by folks well connected within the very industries they are supposed to regulate.

But let's hold on a minute. Filmmaker Robert Kenner's documentary could have been just a dour, paranoid investigative piece and still told the truth. Instead, Mr. Kenner has made a color, fast-paced, and well-documented account of the state of the food supply in our country; the unintended consequences of the efficiencies, short-cuts, and technological methods inherent in factory farming; the insidious insider relationship between the meat industry and the agencies that should be regulating it; and the health effects, including diabetes, of consuming processed foods and fast foods.

Naturally, the culprits behind the curtain (e.g., Smithfield, Monsanto, Perdue) would not appear on camera, not because they are cowards but precisely because they are so powerfully connected, and have legions of lawyers and enforcers (yes, like any bully, these outfits do use intimidation), and are moving to control free speech and criticism of their practices.

The counterbalance to the doom and gloom comes from interview with small farmers; with entrepreneurs in the organic food business; and with brave folks who have tried to make a stand against the food industry; and with those experts who are striving to be modern day Paul Reveres in the face of mass indifference.

Kenner uses photography and imagery to make his points, and he interlaces this film with scenes of amazing beauty and graphic cruelty. "Food, Inc." is not an easy film to watch, and it should not be. Kenner uses the final frames to deliver some to-do's for those who want to respond to the film not just in conversation but through action. As trite as it sounds, if you can only see one movie this year, go to this one. (When the negative review start cropping up for this movie, it would be interesting to see how many of those are from food industry insiders and their minions.)