eric schlosser

Eco

Food, Inc. Film Exposes Problems With US Food Consumption

In addition to being captured in photos by National Geographic, the sustainable food crisis is also the focus of a new documentary.

In addition to being captured in photos by National Geographic, the sustainable food crisis is also the focus of a new documentary. Magnolia Pictures' Food, Inc. is a call to action to change the way America eats. It discusses food consumption today, its heavy dependence on corn, its ties to national policy, and its inevitable impact on our nation's health.

Based on the book Food, Inc. (and similar to The Omnivore's Dilemma), the premise of this film appears to be similar: the country's food system, with its focus on making food bigger, cheaper, and faster, is making America sick. The movie also addresses the contamination issues plaguing the nation and the enormous power wielded by US food corporations, with sustainable food poster boys Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser making appearances in the documentary.

If you haven't seen it yet, below is the trailer for the film, which debuts in select cities June 12. Do you think this documentary will prove to be as influential as proponents are hoping it to be? Will you go see it?

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Do You Buy Organic Foods?

Yesterday marked day one of the 2007 San Francisco Winter Fancy Foods Show (I'll be spotlighting my favorite finds throughout the week).

Yesterday marked day one of the 2007 San Francisco Winter Fancy Foods Show (I'll be spotlighting my favorite finds throughout the week).
And although I'm not a morning person, I somehow managed to get my butt in gear in order to be seated for the 8:30am keynote by Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation).

During his keynote, which even Schlosser noted as depressing for an early Sunday morning, he talked about the state of our nation's eating habits and how unfortunate they are. We live in an era where (according to Schlosser's research), one of every five children eat french fries every day, and most of us consume what is quick and available. Overall, it was quite bleak, and mildly depressing (9am is really too early to learn about obese chickens grown for McNuggets). However, even when faced with all of his sad statistics, Schlosser manages to stay optimistic because:

It's not the fast food in the title that I care about, it's the nation.

He also remains optimistic due to the growth of consumer awareness. In the last 5-10 years, he has seen many more consumers become concerned with what they're eating, as well as a larger interest in organic and local foods.

So reader, how about you?
Do you buy organic foods?