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Film Analysis: Behind The Food Industry's Door

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Behind the Food Industry’s Door Walking down the grocery store aisle, it may seem like there is an endless amount of choices and varieties of food to buy, but in actuality, 80 percent of those products are controlled by only four companies in the United States. The food industry used to consist of organic produce and meats that were grown in the United States, that were then transferred to markets in the country. However, ever since the 1950s, when the fast food industry took off, a variety of new methods were introduced to make food cheap and fast, without much concern for quality. Bigger companies bought out smaller companies, and all of a sudden, the food industry was controlled by fewer than ten major corporations that make every decision …show more content…

The film includes many instances where facts, logic, and scientific evidence are included to educate the viewer on how horrifying the food industry really is. Statistics on the food monopoly open the eyes of the viewer to how much power is in the hands of only a few people. One example of this is the soybean monopoly, owned by the company Monsanto, who is allowed under patent laws to sue farmers for saving and cleaning their seeds for reuse. Food, Inc. also includes information on the breakout of E. coli O157:H7, a deadly bacteria caused by the feeding of corn to cattle at CAFOs– Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. The documentary explains that cattle are not adapted anatomically to digest corn, so the bacteria grows in their digestive tracts and is transferred to their manure, which then contaminates crops due to runoff. The horrifying facts included in the film are objective, so they impact everyone viewing the film, thus affecting the impact of Kenner’s argument. For this very reason, logos are the most effective form of persuasion in Food, …show more content…

One of the reasons that social issue documentaries are so effective is their ability to show scenes and include music/sounds that are emotional to the viewer, and Food, Inc. is no exception. Mainly, the documentary includes personal anecdotes of people and families affected by the ills of the industry to relate to the viewer. Barbara Kowalcyk is a prime example of this. Kenner includes a testimony of her son’s tragic death due to the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria to emotionally move the viewer. He also includes the reaction of the USDA, which was to do nothing from preventing this event from occurring again. Obviously, this is a very effective element of the film, because almost nothing is more devastating than the loss of a child, and the viewer can recognize that, as shown by the typical reaction of sorrow and sympathy. Additionally, the film includes a personal anecdote from Vince Edwards, a farmer for the chicken company Tyson. He explains the inhumane treatment of his chickens that he must maintain, due to the control that the billion-dollar company has over him. He is also not allowed to show the inside of the chicken houses to the camera crew, a fact that is disgusting enough to persuade any viewer. Pathos, in this way, are used extremely well by Kenner to persuade audiences that the food industry deserves reform. Some may argue that emotional appeal is ineffective,

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Upton Sinclair’s, The Jungle is a novel, which affected the food industry in 1900’s but also in America today. People have learned over the years the truths about the food industry, revealed through Sinclair’s detailed evidence. Sinclair meant to aim at the public’s heart but instead he shot straight at their stomachs. One would easily be convinced to never again buy or eat meat again. Fortunately, people have seen changes from 1906 and have been currently trying to repair the Food Industry.

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Among the methods used by the creators in this film is the use of a variety of images that help to enhance the use of other methods by displaying ideas and setting tone. A prominent use of such is the images of animals such as chicken or cows being gathered and slaughtered. Not only does it present that concept of raising to kill, but it continues on with the process after of assembly lines and conveyor belts that gives the whole process a mechanical and inhumane tone. The filmmakers likely used this to provide emphasis for their claim that the food corporation has little concern for the animals and simply sees them as food to mass produce. Thus by doing so in the end it strengthens their claim both by potentially gaining the support of those

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The main emotional appeal is the use of children and the country’s future. Multiple images of overweight children, or children eating unhealthy food, are shown in the movie. The opening scene, for example, is a group of children singing “Pizza Hut, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut.” Spurlock also interviewed a group of children. The children are shown four different photos, two highly known historical figures and two fast food mascots.

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During here interview, she stated, “The companies don’t want farmers talking They don’t want this story told.” (Kenner, Food Inc.) Morison also claimed to state that, “It doesn’t matter if the chickens get sick. All of the chickens will go to the plant for processing” (Kenner, Food Inc.) From this interviewer’s statements, Carol Morrison is a credible source because he spends most of her time in the chicken farm and she has interacted with many other companies like Food Inc. To show ethos in this documentary, the author used his personal experience along with what the industry has stated.

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In the segment called Unintended Consequences, Patricia Buck and her daughter Barbara Kowalcyk, who are food safety advocates, visit Washington, D.C. to speak with Diana DeGette, a representative from Colorado, in order to spread concern for E.Coli and get support for Kevin’s Law, a bill that has been in circulation to pass through Congress in remembrance of her son’s death. This example shows that the documentary aims to connect with the consumers to show the risks they should fear as they are at the will of the companies. Kowalcyk’s account also supports the main argument that the documentary is trying to convey, which is that factories are more unsanitary than before. To support their case, the documentary visits Beef Products Inc.(BPI) in Nebraska and speaks with Eldon Roth, the founder of BPI, to uncover the conditions of some of his different beef factories. According to Roth, his factories are ones that are ahead of normal standards from a food safety standpoint.

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The opinions of the reader could be altered once their heart is open to the author. Additionally, Food, Inc. emphasizes the loss of a young boy due to a previously nonexistent disease created by the food industry (Kenner 31:22). This shows the audience the lack of remorse the industry feels towards the child’s death and tugs at the viewer’s heartstrings, pleading for them to take action. The story of Kevin, the young boy who died of E. coli, was only added to inflict hurt into the audience’s heart, making pathos the only reason the story was

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The main point of the novel is to describe how dangerous fast foods can be. Schlosser makes sure to bring up multiple occasions where fast food has played a huge role in an individual's health. For instance, the author states "Every day in the United States, roughly 200,000 people are sickened by a foodborne disease, 900 are hospitalized, and 14 die"(Schlosser 195). Schlosser then goes on and uses the example of the Hudson foods dilema. In order to save money, the company was feeding their cattle things that were never meant to be food.

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In the second act, adversity and conflict are disclosed usually through facts. In the movie Food, Inc. (2009), directed by Robert Kenner, the issue of how food is produced and distributed wrongly. Animals are bred and injected with hormones for mass production. Some animals are forced to live in the dark all their lives, and then are slaughtered. The conflict is what keeps the audience engaged.

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For example, Oprah Winphry, who won the case against the Texas Cattlemen because of what she said about beef, Vince Edwards and Carole Morrison (Tyson growers), Barbara Kowalcyk and Patricia Buck (food safety advocates, who have lost a loved one to this ills of the food industry, a typical low income family, and good old Joel Salatin of the Polyface farm who is still farming and breeding animals the good old fashioned way. Food Inc. highlights the journey of Robert Kenner on his quest to find out the source of the food we eat on a daily basis. In this journey, he opened with the way we used to breed animals before and how we do them now and the problems in doing this. The revolution of McDonalds moving the factory to the back of its kitchen to cut cost and then a Tyson farmer, Carole Morrison letting them in her grow house to show the ills of the way this need to cut cost is affecting how long the chicken are grown and the quality of the chicken. Robert Kenner told this story by covering all basis, he talked to growers like Vince and Carole (Tyson Growers), who helped to make us

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There is a new food revolution beginning it is one that is getting back to the roots of our foods; natural unprocessed foods. Many people with and without health ailments are discovering how whole, natural foods benefit their health. Farmageddon is a documentary that reveals how the USDA, FDA, and other regulating agencies are sabotaging the efforts of both individuals and local small producers to enable access to these organic, locally grown and raised foods and meats. The documentary tells the story of independent family farms and small businesses that were, or are, providing safe, healthy foods and were either forced to shut down, or nearly forced to shut down, due to seizures and unjustified searches.

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The novel illustrates the meatpacking industry as a killing machine because knifes and dangerous machinery are very exposed and workers are easily injured. A worker named Kenny Dobbins was one of the victims of the inhumane meatpacking industry system. He lost his body parts during work and was thrown away by the company just like trash. Meanwhile, the movie depicts inhumanity of the government and industry towards consumers and also animals. The government and the industry are both keeping their eyes closed towards the tragedy that happened to a kid named Kevin.

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This could come as a shock to those that don’t feel the need to read the nutritional facts on the back of their packaged food. I think this struck a cord, so to speak, with the viewers. Several kids who usually eat in that class either put their food away or slowed down on the eating. I found this remarkably funny, but at the same time sad. This documentary was definitely able to get into the minds of people, getting them to think about the food they ate every day.

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Though there were certain scenes in the movie that made no sense what so ever. The movie did a phenomenal job with portraying how the companies work in order to achieve their goal of keeping their fast food in today 's society. The director also made sure to show just how unhealthy and unregulated this part of our country has become. As one of it 's primary goals I think it showed how the corporations do their best to incorporate their name into our minds to link with things such as "celebration, happiness, accomplishment, and rewards. The saddest part about things like this is that each can easily be placed into a child with access to the internet.

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This reaches a much larger audience of people who are not just animal lovers. The filmmaker explains how corn is a large part of a cow’s diet because it helps to make them bigger at a faster rate. But the large amounts of corn fed to these animals can cause deadly diseases such E.Coli to develop and this now put the consumer at risk. Barbara Kowalcyk became food advocate after she lost her son due to an E.coli outbreak. It’s an emotional interview because you see her fighting back tears to explain how her son went from perfectly healthy to dead within 12 days.

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Countless social issues within America today can be traced back to the food industry. Although

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