2008’s Food Inc. to this day remains one of the most eye-opening documentaries I have ever watched, completely changing my eating habits as a direct result. Just try to chow down on a big greasy burger after watching that film, wherein they emphasize the unfortunate convenience of fast food, or the fact that hamburger meat comes from nearly twenty cows. Food Inc. 2 lacks these kinds of jaw-dropping revelations. This time around, helmer Robert Kenner (director of the first Food Inc.) teams with co-director Melissa Robledo to merely focus on the disturbing facts. In the wake of the pandemic, our food ecosystem nakedly shows just how vulnerable it really is, and these documentarians are here to record every ugly moment. Food Inc. 2 tears down the curtain of ultra-processed foods and the disgusting effect that consuming them may have on our bodies. More than that, it even manages to examine the warped circumstances by which our eating habits fall prey to the controlling companies. A broken system’s only hope may be in the future of agricultural legislation, or the innovators coming up with creative alternatives to mass consumption.
Segmented into distinct parts, this food-based documentary wastes no time getting into the veritable meat of the matter. The beginning mentions how a new food movement seems to be happening, with a shift in the way people look at where their food is coming from, and how it is produced. I found this particularly noteworthy, mainly because I have been seeing it happen in real time. Perhaps it is a maturity thing, but more and more people seem to be actually caring about what they are putting in their body. Long gone are the days of simple delights such as food coloring infused lollipops and slop for lunch like I was served in high school. Parents especially are being really mindful of what exactly gets fed to their children. In one of the interesting tidbits, we learn about how schools in Brazil prep forty million meals per day from scratch for their students. If only America would move towards this practice, rather than the cheapest way out.
Disturbingly, Food Inc. 2 focuses more on a macro level rather than the micro level of its first installment. That means from the very fabric of our highest government, the food industrial complex has been primed for failure. Workers at the ground level make pennies compared to the top dogs and CEOs; one factoid emphasizes that the average CEO earns more in one hour what a worker makes in a year! Not only that, but people are pushed into cyclical behavior with food. From advertisements boasting about gargantuan portions and novelty items, people crave food on the go out of convenience more than ever. In Japan, they look at it as a sign of disrespect to eat while one walks, evidence by the lack of trash cans. In America, no such expectation exists. Everywhere we look, food awaits, including inside clothing stores where none should exist. All day every day, our surroundings are urging us to binge. Eat just a little more, what could it hurt? I never thought of eating in this manner, but I will think twice about grabbing a bite on the go the next time I am in the city.
My favorite section by far involves “ultra processed foods,” a topic that feels like a total attack against many things I worshipped during my teenage years. Sugary soda, overly sweet cereals, instant ramen… all items I full-on loved at one point or another, but these and the chemically-tainted flavors and artificial colorings are slowly killing us. Side effects including obesity and depression are just some of the many fun features that regular consumers of these items can come to expect. I tend to wish the film focused heavily on the ultra processed foods. Equally as fascinating: the idea of consequences for interfering with a brain’s ability to metabolize food.
At times, Food Inc. 2 can occasionally feel like a “for change” propaganda video rather than a true movie. It helps that all manner of experts input their two cents. While I appreciate a senator’s commitment to certain initiatives, I tend to wish it had been left on the cutting room floor. What does work are the personal stories, such as a struggling mother who can scarcely afford to put food on the table for her son, or the man who has developed a revolutionary new stock cropper for sustainability. The advertisements from all over the globe emerge as winners, too. Aside from this, many ideas are presented but never expanded upon, yet there are few that definitely come off as true winners.
It may never reach the high highs of its 2008 predecessor, yet Food Inc. 2 makes a meal of potent and flavorful analysis about the bitter, fickle food industry. With systems “fueling chronic diseases,” when will the cycle end? The only hope for change lies within. If Food Inc. taught us to really read labels on the items we eat, its sequel implores audiences that no matter the subliminal advertising’s insistence, we do not need that Taco Bell “fourth meal” between dinner and breakfast.
Food Inc. 2 implores viewers to watch what they eat, heading from farm to table to Video On Demand, and for special theatrical screenings on Tuesday, April 9th.
