The Film The Future of Food: Main Point, Themes Addressed and Issues Concerned

The Future of Food

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, The Future of Food is “one of 2005’s must see-documentaries.” The Future of Food is a Deborah Koons Garcia film that is just as important to the consumer as the Robert Kenner film, Food, Inc. The Future of Food is a documentary that large corporations would like the viewer not to see, which is exactly why many take the time and watch it.

During the duration of this film, I learned about the revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of most families. Additionally, I learned about the truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled grocery store shelves for the past decade. Furthermore, I learned about the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what people eat as huge international corporations seek to control the world's food system.

Ironically, in relation to class, the film – The Future of Food helped me connect what we learned in class about what is in our food, the difference between chemicals, hybrids, and genetically modified foods, to how and why fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals are so predominant in our food supply. As a result, after watching this documentary I was further able to relate what is currently going on with the food supply in the United States back to class. For example, through this film I was able to relate the discussion in the documentary about Monsanto, to what was discussed about Monsanto in class. Monsanto was an international corporation that was formerly in the pesticide business and is now one of the biggest seed suppliers in the world. The film revealed how Monsanto was suing farmers who did not buy seed from them, but rather had it growing in their fields accidently, which demonstrate why Monsanto had become the poster child for big corporations who only seem to care about money. Besides the connection about what is in our food and Monsanto, I was able to relate the appearance of Vandana Shiva during this documentary back to class discussions about her; including her views on the food insecurity through the localization of food production to “one of 2005’s must see documentaries” – The Future of Food.

In my opinion, The Future of Food is a very informative and well-done documentary. This film was easy to follow, while at the same time, quite comprehensive and kept my attention. I was pleased with the interviews from well-known scientist, such as Vandana Shiva. In addition to the information in the documentary, the animations and photography is outstanding. As a result, I believe that The Future of Food is one of the best documentaries and contains important information for us all.