The Future of Food (2004)

The Future Of Food, an 88 minute long documentary, released in 2004, and directed by Deborah Koons Garcia, wife of the late founder of the 1960s rock band, The Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia, is a film that rehashes many of the same points made in the earlier films, yet also goes a bit more deeply, penetrating into the web of how Monsanto, and other agribusiness giants weave a web of control and oligopoly that reverberates up and down the food chain, and puts the squeeze on the small, family farmer, even waging a war on them. The film shows how a Canadian farmer named Percy Schmeiser stood up to Monsanto and was ruined by a corrupt Canadian judiciary (although, if one follows the link provided, it seems that Schmeiser actually got the upper hand in 2008!).The film also details how these corporate thugs, mostly in the petrochemical and insecticide and herbicide industries, have cornered the market in the seed industry, and how ridiculous patent laws have allowed the first company with the idea to patent natural plants to do so, and how they have tried to standardize patent laws worldwide so that an American or French company could somehow dictate the agricultural and food policies of developing and Third World nations, in a sort of corporate colonialism that is bound to engender not only health, but political, problems in the future. The destruction of native cultures is just part of the problem, for the larger issue is the absurdity of patenting life itself, and stating that Crop X belongs to a foreign company, thus allowing foreign interests to lay economic and legal rights to products they had no part in cultivating, while also allowing these unevolved and monoculture crops great range and susceptibility to droughts and pests they cannot fight off, for even Monsanto's Round Up Ready soy beans are showing their limitations as a food source, whereas Mexico's natal and diverse forms of corn, which occasionally remix with wild and progenitor breeds prove hardier and more resistant than the genetically modified corn from north of the border.The film also brings to light what is called the Terminator Gene that has been developed in certain crops, which was designed so that limits on crops could more easily maintain crop process. The utter folly of this, were these strains to become dominant, is that famine would be rampant, and the very development of such a gene, alone, should be enough to convince any legislative body of the folly of allowing corporate empty suits to have any say in the vital national security issue of feeding the masses. All in all, The Future Of Food is likely the best and most information rich of these documentaries in conveying the scope and depth of the issues surrounding America's insane agricultural process.

An excellent companion piece to the widely recognised Food, Inc. The Future of Food focuses more on the scientific breakthroughs of the last 20 years. It shows how the genetically modified seeds have crossed with those that are harvested by farmers that wish to have no part in this corporate game. These farmers are not to be sued for having patented crops they never wanted in the first place. It's a rich and complex issue, as the dream of cheap and healthy food for all has evolved into a sickening game of chase the cash. Yet another damning of the capitalist nature of America, it preaches for a more simplified world or organic farming. Heavy on the science and low on the sentiment, this is an educational documentary that opens the eyes.

I first became aware of things not being quite right when I developed an allergic reaction to various products. So now I started looking at the labels of all the products I consumed - from soap to toothpaste to food. What I discovered was that the American food diet is a slow death sentence. E.g. after brushing my teeth, my stomach would ache and I did not know why. I finally read the label of my toothpaste for the first time in my life. It warns you that if you swallow too much of it, you should call the local Poison Control Center. I was slowly poisoning myself, and it is sold over the counter - it contains bleach! I switched to Tom's of Maine and no longer have those stomach problems. I then saw the movie "Supersize Me." It confirms that the American "fast-food" food industry is a slow death sentence. Then I saw "King Corn" and it confirms that the corn being grown in the US is inedible - unless it gets "processed" at a plant! Now comes "The Future of Food" and ... I am depressed. I apologize to every single organic food grower, and consumer for ever thinking you guys were "full of it." The irony is of course that I was the one full of "it." Please let others know what is going on - tell everyone you know to see this movie ... and BUY ORGANIC! That's my plan. If we stop buying their sewage then they lose profit. If they lose profit, THEN we get their attention. may God richly bless you and yours, in Jesus' name, amen.

This movie was truly shocking. I had no idea what was really truly happening with our food supply, I mean I had an idea, but I didn't think it was this bad. Makes you wanna run out into the streets and shout. I agree with the previous previewer, it is totally watchable for kids, and actually this should be shown in schools, libraries, where ever you can get a group together to see it. This info has got to get out there. WOW! What do we do? How do we do it? What do you eat? Where do you shop? Think about those things. See the movie and then make some changes! Maybe plant your own garden, or join a local CSA... do something!