Hungry For Change After Watching Food, Inc.

Food, Inc. has been in my NetFlix queue for a while, just waiting for the DVD release of this widely acclaimed documentary. Admittedly, I tend to like documentaries. Additionally, I have been very focused on a variety of human and pet food issues for many, many years.

I have recently watched (I hate to confess) a whole series of food-related films, including The Future of Food and The World According to Monsanto. I have researched and read all about a host of food topics, and have even had the privilege of talking directly to some of people working on the front lines to educate the world about a host of food-related topics, ranging from the use of genetically modified organisms in food to large-scale factory farms.

Because of this, and because Food, Inc. was the largest and most "mainstream" film released on this topic, I was not quite sure what to expect from it. Would it pull the real punches, as many mainstream films often do? Or would it dive right into the meat of the issue? (pun intended)

To my delight, the film hit several of the key points very strongly. Furthermore, it was filled with fun, passionate, big-thinking minds that just made me smile. One of the stars of the movie was the proprietor of Polyface Farms. Not only have they pushed farming far beyond basic organics, they are restoring the land on which they farm through a whole eco-system approach to farming. Joel Salatin eloquently explains in Food, Inc. that our willingness to honor a pig's natural "pigness" is key to helping us honor differences in human cultures. And, when he says it, you can't help but smile and, at the same time, understand there is something profound about his insight into the way people interact with the entire world around them.

Food, Inc. was well researched, beautifully written and pieced together in a way that should capture and engage people to understand more about something that is of vital importance to us and our pets: our food.