Themes Represented in The Documentary Film 'Food, Inc'

'Food, Inc' is a documentary film that clearly highlights the important problems concerning food industries, problems that slowly developed and became massive. This film is a powerful arraignment of industrial production that uncovers the true facts about what we eat and how the food is generated. Therefore, this paper will investigate a sociological viewpoint. More specifically, it will address the aspect of sociological thinking by focusing on the social context, the social problems, the social theories that can be applied, and how this film can be seen as a mirror to our general public.

'Food, Inc' (2008) is an American film directed by filmmaker Robert Kenner. The film looks at corporate farming in the United States; by explaining that agribusiness produces food that is unhealthy in a manner that is naturally hurtful and damaging to workers and animals. 'Food, Inc' (2008) is partitioned in three sections in which the viewers can have a better understanding of the several downsides of the food system we have in the USA. The first part of the film takes a gander at the industrial production of meat, for example, hamburger, chicken and pork. The second component of the film analyzes the modern generation of vegetable and corns more precisely corn and soy beans and lastly the third component of the film takes a gander at the monetary and lawful power, for example, ‘food labelling regulations‘ of the significant food organizations, the benefits of which depend on providing modest yet defiled food. The social conditions depicted in the movie are different from social condition in other times; for instance in the first part of the film, the movie producers visited two chicken farms, where the viewers are shown the distinctions in raising chickens for food today and years prior. Some portion of the issue started many years ago when the food business changed from being developed normally to being delivered in enormous supplies and bundled for accommodation.

To continue, the film represents our society of capitalism. Some of the misconception and ideologies with regards to food is that very few buyers truly know where their nourishment really originates from or what the food procedures are like. The overall population are told and expected that the meat that they eat, corn and wheat originates and are developed in enormous farms. However, this is genuine when thinking back in the old days yet gradually with time, our society had to require more foods quickly and because of that, animals and crops are being modified in order to help satisfy the needs of food in business sectors. 'Food, Inc' (2008) shows us the tendencies and true realities of these food industries in our society. In the documentary, Robert Kenner, clarifies that strategies and methods of production are hidden from buyers the since, the packaging of the food we buy are not provided with enough information on the meat we buy but instead, the nutrition labels is feeding us with information about how the food is grown on independent farms or how ‘fresh and natural the food is‘.

Furthermore, our diet reflects our socioeconomic status. For instance, a person or a family with low income will tend to consume food that is unhealthy. Healthy food options aren’t even that accessible from everywhere and for everyone due to the fact that healthy foods are more expensive than unhealthy food, as a result of that, people tend to access food that are easily accessible and affordable to them. Therefore, this leads to increase of healthy issues. An example from the film that portrays this issue is the family who spends their money on meals from McDonald’s rather than eating healthy because it’s what they can afford. Furthermore, food safety is another major issue addressed in the documentary, the hidden cost of this rationality such as animal suffering, the dehumanization of workers, the unsanitary food conditions and the unhealthy corn-based diet that is cheaper leads to risks in human life, such as the spread of E Coli and salmonella ('Food, Inc', 2008). This was portrayed in the documentary when, they explained the story of a young boy Kevin, who died from eating hamburger meat that was contaminated (Food Inc, 2008).

Moreover, Weber (1993) ideas concerning rationalization are very clearly portrayed in 'Food, Inc'. Specifically, the instrumental reason where you try to attain a goal (in this case, profit) as efficiently and productively as possible (Weber, 1993). Moreover, the animals are seen as a product, instead of a living creature. For instance, they are overcrowded, kept in the dark in filthy buildings with the goal of growing as big as possible. In addition, ethical care is thrown out the window in exchange for profit. The documentary shows the effects of the Mcdonalization of society. Mcdonalization is comprised of four main dimensions: efficiency, calculability, predictability and control according to Ritzer, 2013. The first one, efficiency is the optimal organization for achieving a task. For instance, this is shown is the documentary by the use of technological machines. The second, calculability, refers to how much workers can get the work done; it has to do with numbers (quantity over quality). And this is shown in the movie how their ultimate goal is to make animals grow as fast as it can in order for it to be sold in markets as quickly. With the rise of predictability, the third dimension, is all about keeping things uniformed, things must follow as shown. This segment is found in the film when animals are fed with unhealthy corns since it is less expensive and the commodity crops like corn, wheat and soybeans are vigorously subsidized. Also, with the unhealthy corn-biased diet and the antibiotics, chickens end up being big as quickly as possible by carrying more than their actual size (Food inc., 2008). Under control, the fourth dimension, laborers become institutionalized and supplanted by non-human technologies. For example, this is shown in the documentary when in the meatpacking industry, working class individuals are equipped with the help of machines that allow them to get the job done as quickly as possible. Also, the documentary shows many workers are placed in many and different position in the meatpacking industry to get each machines going on as fast as possible. In other words, one person is responsible for one job (high specialization).

To conclude, the food system has turned into ‘a game‘ of profit that has come to dominate all spheres of social life and on another hand, it likewise dehumanizes both animals and workers. As a country, we have to change the manner in which we are treating our laborers and creatures, as well as policing and generating our nourishment.