Customer Reviews

Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution

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4 star:		(1)
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Length:: 0:52 Mins

Fans of Michael Pollen - the author who is fighting to overturn agribusiness in favor of local organic food - will be attracted to this lovely film which "rings the alarm" that pesticide laden meat and produce are dangerous to our lives. Since I worked many years ago in the Pesticide Accident Division of the EPA, I wholeheartedly agree that pesticides are a menace that should be avoided if alternative ways of growing food are possible. This film says YES to that question.

I began my title by praising the Mayor of Barjac, France who is a small time politician of a town in the South of France who insisted that the schoolchildren of his village be fed "organic food" and only "organic food" in the school cafeteria. The meals are creative and appear to be delicious. The Mayor even insists that the children participate in a school garden and grow the vegetables themselves. I think he is courageous and right. In the film, he insists it is a matter of conscience. Let that experiment begin here.

My favorite segment of the movie was one where there were two wine vineyards - side by side - one in which pesticides were used and one where they were absent. The soil where pesticides and fertilizers were used was dead soil. The organic soil - just a few feet away - was living soil (clumpy, dark, and full of worms). That says it all to me. Let's go back to living soil and living life!

"Food Beware" is an important media tool for raising awareness of the toxicity of our food, and the healthy alternatives. A handful of chemical companies and agribusiness firms currently dominate the global food system; not through a free market, but through subsidies, massive marketing campaigns, lobbyists who corrupt representative democracy, etc. "Food Beware" gives us a tour that stretches from an international conference on sustainable agriculture, to the lunchroom of an elementary school in France.
This documentary underscores the hazards that come from spraying millions of gallons of toxic chemicals on crops. There are several scenes of farmers in biohazard suits spraying their fields, and we hear from farmers who regularly become ill when preparing the pesticides/insecticides/herbicides/fungicides.
In one scene, the mayor of this town brings together organic and conventional farmers to dialogue about transforming their community's food system.

One of the many hopeful aspects of this film is how it follows the development of an "edible schoolyard" Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea. The kids enjoy the process of planting and harvesting; and the school's teachers, cooks and parents take pride in the effort to nourish their children and lessen their exposure to various carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and other ingredients of corporatized agriculture The Hundred-Year Lie: How to Protect Yourself from the Chemicals That Are Destroying Your Health.

Maybe "Food Beware" is not as stylish as related documentaries such as Food, Inc. and How to Save the World, but it is a very thoughtful production on a critically important issue. Plus, it gives a concrete example of how communities can create a food system that puts people (and entire ecosystems) before profits.
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Excellent movie. I enjoyed seeing how one community pulled together to make a difference. That is all it takes, it starts with one person, then they spread their interest to others, from there they move to making changes in their communities. It is a great example to all of us on what we can do. I imagine the mayor of this town would be more than happy and willing to be contacted for information on how others could implement the same style program in their community.

Although the basic idea of this documentary was great, it never lived up to its possibilities. To it's credit, it sported some good clips, valid statistics and a great role model for proactive city counsels. Unfortunately it was also choppy, individual threads of action and progression difficult to follow. There were no clear outlines for other communities looking to follow this example and the storylines developed slowly and out of joint with one another. All things considered, there are vastly better documentaries available regardless of which aspect of this story appeals to you.