SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain
An excellent companion piece to the widely recognised Food, Inc. The Future of Food focuses more on the scientific breakthroughs of the last 20 years. It shows how the genetically modified seeds have crossed with those that are harvested by farmers that wish to have no part in this corporate game. These farmers are not to be sued for having patented crops they never wanted in the first place. It's a rich and complex issue, as the dream of cheap and healthy food for all has evolved into a sickening game of chase the cash. Yet another damning of the capitalist nature of America, it preaches for a more simplified world or organic farming. Heavy on the science and low on the sentiment, this is an educational documentary that opens the eyes.
jfdavisnyc@aol.com
I'm just curious as to why some of the negative reviewers sound like they may be working secretly for Archer Daniels Midland or Monsanto. Their bleating objections strike me as being pseudo defensive and very similar to those expressed by the tobacco industry when they're charged with deception and killing people with their product or when "An Inconvenient Truth" broke open the Global Warming debate and conservatives denied its veracity. Someone should check on those guys and how they earn a living. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed "The Future of Food" and felt it did us a great service by expressing another viewpoint OTHER than what we get from the big corporations and our government. I wish it were our government. It's an important film and well worth seeing and further discussion.
louknees
"The Future of Food" is a documentary that deals with the history of the agricultural industry and the development of genetically engineered food. It delves deep into the topics of patenting these genetically engineered creations by huge corporations and how the FDA's and EPA's regulations aren't strict enough and how food that has been genetically engineered in the United States does not have to be labeled. This is all valuable information.Then the movie spends the rest of the time bashing a corporation "Monsanto" for destroying the lives of all these farmers and potentially they will bring the end of the world. Phrases like "if 60 genetically altered salmon are entered into the mainstream population, the salmon species COULD be extinct within 40 generations," are all fine and good, but there's no flip side of the coin. There's no one from Monsanto backing claims. There's no one saying, "Genetically engineered salmon could increase population growth." It seems that many documentaries recently have become witch hunts against multinational corporations, which I think are great if both sides are presented. Maybe Monsanto didn't want to talk to the filmmaker, but if that was the case, let the viewer know that at least they tried to show both sides of the story. Show the filmmaker calling or have a graphic saying "They declined comment." "The future of Food" is a great idea, with a lot of great information, but it ultimately fails because it only shows 50% of the story, hence my 5 out of 10 rating.
colbydog
This is arguably one of the best examples of a film that has the ability to simplify a very complicated subject tat I have seen since The Corporation. Debora Koons Garcia has strung together the most cohesive and informative series of interviews, historic footage, biographies and science animations that culminate in a clear comprehensive message about our food and what is being done with it. It should be built-in to every television sold today... its that good!The film describes in detail the history of agriculture and then focuses on the problems associated with industrial agriculture and the introduction of Agri-Business in the 20th Century. It reveals the unethical business practices that have resulted from Argri-Corporations need to make profit regardless of their effects on humanity. Agribusiness; like it or hate it, you will learn information you didn't know from this film.
AD
