Food, Inc.

Andrew and I saw the most interesting movie last week. I noticed when I was walking past a local theater that there was a movie showing called Food, Inc. I watched the trailer when I got home and I had to see it.

We love to cook, we're kind of foodies, we're interested in environmental issues, we like animals, we eat meat, etc. This was basically the perfect movie for us, sorta. When you leave you want to become a vegan, which means I thought of my sweet friend Caroline the entire time I was there. It took everything in me (mostly a dark theater and strangers sitting close by) not to text her every five minutes about the movie. But I also knew that if she hadn't seen/heard of the movie, she'd probably think I was just crazy.

Did I mention that we saw this documentary at a local movie theater/coffee shop called Cable Car Cinema? It's a really cute little place with coffee, sandwiches, an old fashion popcorn machine, ice cream and a one screen theater in the back! AND the theater is comprised of all leather couches and fancy reclining theater chairs! We love it. It's so unique. So local.

The movie was very interesting. It related to issues I deal with at work with the Department of Health, socio-economic issues such as "why can people get more for their money by purchasing a burger and fries off the dollar menu, than fruits or vegetables?", and it related to me as a consumer and citizen.

It addresses various food issues in the US including meat packing factories, the abundant usage of corn by-products, "intellectual" ownership over food sources, etc. The movie really caused us to stop and think about where our food comes from. We have no idea. We rarely stop to think about what the animals ate, where the plants grew, what's actually in season, etc. The movie totally grossed us out at times and deeply saddened us at others. But as much as we enjoyed the thought-provoking film we are keenly aware that we only saw one side of the issue. We're eager to learn more about what the other side (big producers, large companies, etc.) would say as well. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a little glimpse into the US food industry.

I would definitely recommend checking it out. Although it was a documentary, there were some "characters" that we fell in love with. Two farmer's in particular. It's not playing everywhere, but it is playing all over the US. Check out the list to see if it's playing near you:)



Eat up! Wait. Check the label first, then, eat up:D