CLIP DOCUMENTARY FOOD, INC. DIRECTOR: Robert Kenner STARRING: Eric Schlosser, Michael Pollen, Joel Salatin PRODUCTION: USA 2008 SYNOPSIS This American documentary film focuses on the drawbacks of the industrialisation of the food system in the US. The inhumane food industry, both economically and environmentally unsustainable, is controlled by a handful of multinational corporations whose goals are enormous profits, disregarding health and safety issues. The film reports the exploitation and abuse of animals, the exploitation of workers, the spread of diseases linked to animals being kept in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and the pollution due to the great amount of excrements when cattle and pigs are kept in mass enclosures. It also deals with the power of transnational corporations and the negative consequences of controlling the food chain ‘from seed to supermarket’. Monsanto fell under public scrutiny following the 2008 documentary , which offers a broader understanding and some shocking claims of cutthroat measures within agribusiness. The film paints a dark picture of the $10 billion global seed company and its practices against small farmers who do not buy its genetically modified seeds. Food Inc. BEFORE WATCHING Are consumers generally aware of what they eat? Do you think it is ethical for those who are involved with the food industry to influence or implement food policies? Give examples of how the logic of profit can be applied to the food industry. Browse the Net and find out how the great amount of corn-based products may affect humans’ health. 8 Answer the questions. 1. 2. 3. 4. WHILE WATCHING The clip tells the story of a farmer who continued to plant conventional soybean seeds. One day, his fields became contaminated by genetically modified seeds.