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Review: Food Inc. 2

— by BEV QUESTAD —

Change is going to come! Rich with exposure and documentation, “Food Inc. 2” continues its attacks and solutions to our food problems after the 2009 film “Food Inc.” This time, directors Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo have Cory Booker and Jon Tester aboard to help their cause in the US Senate.

What I wrote back in 2009 with Dr. Yuen about “Food Inc.” still holds today: “Subversive, manipulative, controlling, unethical, mean-spirited – the burgeoning American agribusiness is presented as a force on a destiny to control a significant spectrum of American politics and culture.”


Problems and Solutions

Explained are comments like “We are eating ourselves to death.”

Organized into chapters, Kenner and Robledo spread thick and detailed info in “Food Inc. 2” on topics like farm workers, practices at Tyson during COVID-19, crop choices, government subsidies, ultra-processed foods, and monopolies.

Solutions to looming issues include fair farm worker practices, government oversee, nutritious planting, the stock cropper, animal replacement technology, farming the sea, sustainable and planet-healing practices, and anti-trust legislation with enforcement.


The Facts

There’s a frustrating cycle related to unregulated big business where the rich and powerful take shameful advantage of hardworking employees and consumers.

    “Food Inc. 2” Fast Facts
    1. Four companies have a stranglehold on 85 percent of beef processing
    2. Three companies dominate 83 percent of cold cereal
    3. Two companies control 70 percent of the carbonated soft drink market
    4. Two companies control 80 percent of the baby formula market
    5. Ultra-processed foods make up about 58 percent of US adults caloric intake
    6. The CEO of Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, earns more in an hour ($13,259) than a Taco Bell worker earns in a year ($13,082).
    7. Federal minimum wage has been $7.25/hour since 2009, adjusted for inflation it’s almost 50 percent lower than it was in the late 1960s


The Hope

Thank goodness for the collaboration of Republican Montana Senator Jon Tester and Democrat New Jersey Senator Cory Booker. Tester, a mentor to Booker, wants rural America to be vibrant again. He sees the corporate business model in agriculture as killing the family farm. He’s for anti-trust laws that prohibit conduct and mergers that deprive American consumers of the benefits of competition.

Booker, appointed to the agriculture committee, says there is little access to healthy food for the poor. He notes that a Twinkie product is cheaper than an apple and that diabetes doubles amongst those in poverty.

“Food Inc. 2” makes it a point to be positive and hopeful: “It’s all doable and fixable if we tackle the big problem of anti-trust and agricultural policy. We need to change the incentives so the government is subsidizing healthy calories not unhealthy calories. Just imagine if the gov decided to step in on the side of the consumer and the citizen rather than on the side of the big food companies.”

Experts like Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser and Robert Kenner are warning, educating and advising us on what initiatives to support as our population grows and food sustainability and the health of the planet edges towards a crisis.

Rating: 10/10



Credits

Directors: Robert Kenner & Melissa Robledo
Producers: Michael Pollan & Eric Schlosser
Featuring: Michael Pollan, Gerardo Reyes-Chavez, Eric Schlosser, Zack Smith, Sheriff Tony Thompson, Marion Nestle, Cory Booker, Jon Tester and others
Music: Mark Adler
Cinematography: Jay Redmond
Editing: Leonard Feinstein and Ryan Loeffler
Official Website: https://www.magpictures.com/foodinc2/
How to view: Prime Video

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